Festivals in Thailand
Get a taste of things to do in Thailand.
Chinese New Year - January to February
The Chinese Lunar New Year is celebrated all over Thailand. One of the biggest celebrations is in Bangkok's Chinatown, the district's main road, Yaowarat, is closed to traffic for several days for the festivities.
Valentine's Day - 14th of February
Underwater Wedding Ceremony
Although not a traditional Thai holiday, Valentine's day is celebrated around the country anyway. In Thailand, they use any excuse for a party! Perhaps the most outrageous celebration is the Underwater Wedding Ceremony in Trang province, Southern Thailand. The 14th of February, couples can get married underwater. (Garbled I do's, won't stand up in a divorce court.)
The Elephant Banquet
Up in the northern province of Lampang, the locals have an unusual way of celebrating Valentine's Day. They create a banquet for elephants. The world's largest toke tables, a round table usually less than a meter across is piled high with flowers, bananas, sugar cane and other elephant favourites. Then the beautiful big beasts get down and get dirty! As payment, the elephants play music, paint and dance.
Thai Kite Flying Festival - March
The very ancient Thai sport of Kite flying proceeds the monsoon, which usually begin in late April. A month of more of light winds, perfect for kite flying, signifies the commencement of Sanam Luang, in front of the Grand Palace. Here hundreds of people fly an assortment of wonderfully coloured kites, often in competition.
Phanom Rung Fair - First Weekend in April
The ancient Khmer temple of Phanom Rung in Buriram province of northeastern Thailand is the site of the huge Phanom Rung Fair, a sort of temple fair on a grand scale.
Songkran Festival - 13th to 15th of April
The word Songkran means moving or passing and the festivals marks the beginning of the Thai New Year. Without doubt, the biggest party of the year is the annual Songkran Festival. Celebrated throughout Thailand, the festival traditionally highlights the end of the dry season. A wonderful excuse to soak each other with water. All out water fights have erupted in many tourist areas. Koh Samui remains one of the most popular places to be for the festivities.
Rocket Festival - Second Weekend in May
The monsoon supposedly begins in May after the dry season sometimes the clouds take a little coaxing to release their liquid treasure. In the province of Yasothon in Thailand#39;s Northeast, they do their coaxing with rockets. There are competitions to see who can build the most beautiful and biggest rocket. You assured to get a boost and a lift.
Phee Ta Khon - Sometime in June
Thailand's scariest festival, Phee Ta Khon is a sort of Halloween. Only the adult men dress up not the children. The costumes are to scare away ghosts. The date of the festivals are decided by the local shaman and usually only at the last minute.
Beginning of Buddhist Lent - July
Traditionally, Buddhist monks retreated into their temples during the height of the rainy season in order to avoid harming any of the new life. The beginning of this period, for which most use lent for lack of a better term, is celebrated throughout Thailand. The most renowned celebration is in Ubon Ratchatanee, where huge wax sculptures are created for showcasing. The huge candles are presented to the temples to last untill the end of lent.
Vegetarian Festival - Late October or Early November
The festival, celebrated on Koh Samui. Nine days, where Thais of Chinese decent eat only vegetarian meals. It is not known why this tradition began but it is revered throughout Thailand.
Loy Krathong Festival - Usually in November
Celebrated on the tenth lunar month full moon. Loy means to float, a krathong is a small boat. Made out of palm stem, decorated with palm leaf, flowers, joss sticks, and a candle, Thais make a wish to the Goddess of the Water as they place the krathongs in a river or the sea.
Seeing the floating krathongs with their burning candles, surely one of the most beautiful soul inspiring sights in Asia.
It's customary to put a coin or two into the kratong as an offering to the Goddess. For those living by the sea a kratong that floats back to shore is seen as a sign of bad luck. (Good reason to place it in a river, it only flows one way.)
The money the Goddess doesn't collect, the children dive to retrieve the following day.
Thai Temple Fairs
Temples throughout the kingdom will hold a fair at least once a year. The timing in accordance with the lunar calendar, so it can be difficult to find out when a fair is being held.
Although mostly connected to temples, fairs are sometimes held in provincial towns to commemorate special events. These generally occur on specific dates each year, and so are easier to schedule in. A good example of this event is the Thao Suranaree fair held in Nakorn Ratchisima annually from 23rd of March until 3rd of April. The festival commemorates the 19th century wife of a local official, who led a band of village women to fend off a Lao invasion by getting the Laotian soldiers drunk.
Reminiscent of an old fashioned county fair. The many stalls sell local goods, clothes, kitchenware and other basic necessities. Of course, you'll find plenty of booths offering the local food as a speciality. Games such as darts, shooting galleries and the like where you can win small fair ground prizes. Ferris wheel, bumper cars and other rides creating the carnival atmosphere.
High school bands and traditional music schools will perform by day, more professional entertainment at night. Occasionally an outdoor disco to dance the night away.
Remember, temple fairs are held in temples, so there is a religious context. Temple fairs are held during times of pilgrimages. A period when Thais will make merit by making donations to the temple. Attending the fair and playing the midway games is often seen as a way of merit making in itself. Going to a temple fair, be sure to dress properly as entering a temple. There's often a bit more leeway in the relaxed atmosphere of a fair, but you will generally be far better received if you show respect for the customs.
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