Thais across the country yesterday celebrated His Majesty King's 66th birthday and the start of the three-month Buddhist Lent period with merit-making and acts of selflessness.
The public, wearing yellow attire, turned up in droves at temples or designated public venues in the morning to give alms to monks.
In Bangkok, the alms-giving ceremony at Sanam Luang was led by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and attended by key figures from all the sectors.
After the ceremony, the dignitaries paid respect to the King's portrait and signed a book inside the Grand Palace to extend their good wishes to the monarch.
The Royal Thai Army, the Royal Thai Navy and the Royal Thai Air Force joined the celebrations by firing a 21-gun salute.
In the afternoon, many Buddhists flocked to temples to attend a special rite called tak bat dokmai in which they offered flowers as alms to monks to mark the start of the Lent period.
In Songkhla's Hat Yai, thousands of residents gathered to plant a total of 2,180 trees at Hat Yai public park in honour of the monarch.
In Chiang Rai's Muang district, people came to give blood donations and took part in the cleaning and landscaping of Nong Luang public park.
In Samut Songkhram's Mae Klong district, the fishing sector declared a public commitment to reduce waste in the sea as part of "Do Good Deeds with Hearts" programme.
His Holiness the Supreme Patriarch also extended his best wishes to HM the King.
In the evening, Gen Prayut also led Thais at Sanam Luang to wish the monarch a happy birthday.
People also stopped by commercial banks to obtain the two denominations of a new series of banknotes which entered circulation yesterday to mark the king's birthday.