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The Thai holiday calendar varies widely from the Western holiday calendar. As the country is Buddhist there is not a single Christian holiday, neither Easter nor Christmas. The only holidays that match the Western calendar are New Year Day and Labour Day.

Thailand has more holidays than most Western countries. They are easily categorised in two groups: religious holidays and holidays pertaining to the monarchy.

Aside from the normal national holidays, there are many regional holidays, mostly in context with local religious festivals. Then there are ethnic holidays which are not of national ranking but nevertheless have the effect that many businesses are closed. The most important but not the only one is Chinese New Year in February.

Furthermore, the government may declare a holiday for special occasions. This had happened in October 1991 when the IMF and the Worldbank had their joint meeting in Bangkok. The two weekdays of the meeting were declared holidays primarily to ease traffic in Bangkok. But in spite of the fact that the IMF and the Worldbank had no business in the Thai provinces, the holiday was observed throughout the country and even at Thai embassies and consulates abroad. The cost of two additional holidays must have been immense for the national economy but no one bothered to do any accounting.

Most religious holidays, like in the Christian religious calendar, are attached to the lunar calendar and are frequently on nights of a full moon. This writer feels that these were logically chosen because before the days of electrical illumination it was mainly the moon, which had to provide light after dark.

January 1 New Year’s Day

February (full moon day) - Makka Bucha

April 6 Chakri Day

April 13 Songkran, Thai New Year

May 1 Labour Day

May 5 Coronation Day

May 7 Ploughing Ceremony

May (full moon day) - Visakha Bucha

July (full moon day) - Asanha Bucha

August 12 Queen’s Birthday

October 23 Chulalongkorn Day

December 5 King’s Birthday

December 10 Constitution Day

December 31 New Year’s Eve

Songkran, the Thai New Year celebrated from April 13 to April 16, is the most important, the best known and the gayest of Thailand’s festivals. To the Thai people, this festival is one of water throwing and although it has religious significance, it usually turns into great fun. Everyone gets soaking wet and since it is the hottest season of the year, the custom is quite refreshing.

Songkran is not only observed in Thailand but also in Burma, Laos and Cambodia.

The word Songkran is from the Sanskrit, meaning the beginning of a new solar year. The Thai calendar used to switch to a New Year on April 13 but the date was changed to January 1 to bring the country in line with the rest of the world.

In some ways, Songkran resembles the Christian Easter with it’s feasts and processions of people wearing new clothes. Young and old dress in new attire and visit their Wat where food is offered to the monks. Music is often played on the streets as well as at the Wats.

On the eve of Songkran, housewives give their homes a thorough cleaning. Worn-out clothing or household effects and rubbish are burned - it is a spring cleaning day, supported by the religious belief that anything old and useless must be thrown away or it will bring bad luck to the owner.

During the afternoon of the 13th, Buddha images are bathed as part of the ceremony. Young people pour scented water into the hands of elders and parents as a mark of respect while seeking the blessing of the older people. In ancient days, old people were actually given a bath and clothed in new apparel presented by the young folks as a sign of respect.

Another unique Songkran custom is the releasing of caged birds and live fish, caught throughout the country and sold / purchased in the markets for this occasion. It is believed that great merit is gained through this kind act. In Paklat (Phra Pradaeng) south of Bangkok, girls in gay dresses form a procession and carry fish bowls to the rivers where the fish are released.

The custom to set free some fish goes back to the days when the central plains of Thailand were flooded during the rainy season. After the water subsided, pools were left and as the pools gradually dried up, baby fish were trapped. Farmers in those days caught small fish and kept them at home until Songkran Day when they released them into the canals, thereby gaining merit as well as preserving one of the main items of their diet.

The whole country celebrates Songkran but the festivities are nowhere as exalted as in Chiang Mai.

If a visitor happens to be in a village, out on a country road or up in Chiang Mai, he can well expect a drenching. All people, particularly the younger ones, throw water on one another during the 3-day holiday.

In Chiang Mai, there are processions of groups of women and girls, and bands play at many places. A Queen of the Water Festival is chosen amidst much noise and gaiety. The Ping River, which runs through the city, is crowded with people wading in the water and scooping it up with pans and buckets. The visitor who wants to be in Chiang Mai for the event must plan his/her trip well in advance as hotels are usually fully booked.

Different parts of the kingdom have their own unique games, songs and dances to celebrate Songkran. Farmers in many parts of the country have ample time for the celebration, as they cannot do much work in the fields until the rain comes.

According to an old belief Nagas (mythical serpents) brought rain by spouting water from the seas. The more they spouted, the more rain there would be. So, the Songkran custom of throwing water can be interpreted as an attempt in rain-making.

The annual Plowing Ceremony takes place during the sixth lunar month (usually end of May) at the Phramane Ground near the Grand Palace in Bangkok. The ceremony is of great importance to the country’s farmers and thousands come from the provinces to Bangkok for the event. In the old days, the ceremony was held to give farmers the signal that it was an auspicious date to start ploughing for the new rice crop.

According to the booklet, State Ceremonies and Festivals of Twelve Months, written by King Rama V, the ceremony can be traced back to the time of Buddha more than 2500 years ago and has been observed consistently since then.

In the Sukhothai period (1257-1350) the event was a fabulous affair, celebrated with a long procession led by the King, while the Minister of Agriculture did the ploughing. In the Ayutthaya period (1350-1767), the ceremony was a brief one, which the King delegated to a representative. During the Bangkok period, since the first Chakri king, the ceremony has been fully observed without omission of any portion of the original rites although the actual ploughing has not been done by the King.

The Ploughing Ceremony is of Brahman origin and the auspicious day and hour are still set by the Royal Brahman astrologers. Some Buddhist elements have, however, been added to the rites.

The King appoints a Phaya Raek Nah (Lord of the Festival) as his representative to carry out the rites. On his arrival at the Phramane Ground, the Phaya Raek Nah is presented with three Panungs (cloth worn around the hips) of different lengths from which he chooses one. If his choice is the longest one, there will be little rain during the coming year; if it is the shortest one, rain will be plentiful while the one of medium-length denotes average rain.

A procession follows the red and gold sacred plough drawn by bulls decorated with flowers. Drummers in green costumes keep the beat and Brahmans chant and blow conch shells; four Nang Thepi or Consecrated Women carry gold and silver baskets filled with rice-seed.

The bulls then turn a few furrows with the sacred plough, after which the animals are presented with seven different foods and drinks: rice seed, beans, maize, hay, sesame seed, water and alcoholic liquor. It is believed that whatever the bulls choose to eat or drink will be plentiful during the next year.

The scattering of rice seed by the Phaya Raek Nah follows the ploughing. After the ceremony is ended, barriers are let down and hundreds of people rush to the rice field in an attempt to gather a few grains for good luck. Even if a farmer finds only one grain, it is taken home and mixed with his own rice to ensure a good crop in the coming year.

The night of the full moon of the twelfth lunar month (usually in mid-November) is the time of Loi Krathong. Loi means to float and Krathong is a leaf cup normally made of banana leaf. Usually the Krathong has a small coin in it, besides a candle and incense sticks.

It is unclear to what extent the festival has a religious relevance. It’s not Buddhist but Buddhism doesn’t prohibit the belief in a wide array of spirits and can even coexist with other religions. The fact that the Loi Krathong is not Buddhist doesn’t mean that it wouldn’t have a quasi-religious meaning for a large number of people. A common belief is that floating the cups brings good luck.

During October and November all rivers and canals in the lowlands are flooded and in some places overflow their banks. The rainy season has ended and after the strenuous labour of ploughing and planting rice for the previous three months from dawn to dusk the heavy work is now over for the country folk. The peasants have only to wait a month to six weeks for the harvest. During this idle interval they spend the time with many feasts and festivals, among them the observance of the Loi Krathong tradition.

In the evening, when the full moon begins to rise, people carry their Krathongs to the banks of waterways. After the candle and incense sticks are lighted, the Krathong is pushed gently out onto the surface of the placid water. A few folk will raise their hands in worship. They watch the Krathong as it floats sluggishly along until it is out of sight.

The floating Krathong usually has a short life. As it floats far away from its starting place, children will, in most cases, swim out to snatch for it. They will perhaps ignore the empty ones, but are certainly eager to catch those with small coins inside.

The elephant round up in Chaiyaphum in north-east Thailand on the 10th to 12th of January is similar to but smaller than the one at Surin. Herds of ponderous pachyderms are shown in their medieval role in warfare.

From the 24th to the 31st of January the victory of King Naresuan in 1592 over Burmese occupation forces is commemorated at a memorial in Suphanburi province. Among the activities are mock duels on elephants.

The date of Chinese New Year is determined by the lunar calendar; usually it’s in February. For the Chinese this is a time for family reunions, feasts and exchange of gifts. Chinese owned businesses are closed for 3 to 4 days. Chinese Buddhists offer prayers for good fortune at their temples. Many Chinese travel to Nakhon Sawan where the festivities are especially colourful.

On the full moon of the third lunar month (February), a national holiday commemorates a sermon of Buddha to 1,250 enlightened monks who had gathered on their own to hear him. This event is highlighted by candle-light processions around the main chapel of every Wat in the land.

Phra Putthabhat Fair

The fair at Saraburi celebrates a Buddha footprint. It is Buddhist religious belief that Buddha returned to the earth several times after his death as a human. On these occasions he left behind a number of relics - oversized human footprints in stone or marks at places where he rested with his disciples. Between March 14 and 21, when the festival is held, a large number of faithful make pilgrimages to the Temple of the Holy Footprint at Saraburi.

A public holiday on April 6 commemorates Rama I, the founder of the Chakri dynasty.

This is an official holiday to commemorate their Majesties’ coronation on the same day in 1946. Ceremonies center around the Wat Phra Kaeo in the capital.

The day considered the birthday of Buddha falls on the 15th day of the waxing moon in May (the sixth lunar month). As it is a religious holiday, observance activities center around the Wats.

In provinces all over the Northeast home-made bamboo rockets are shot off during the second week of May as a rainmaking effort. The festival is particularly colourful in the town of Yasothon in north-east Thailand.

On this day proceeding the full moon night in July, the faithful commemorate the first sermon given by Buddha.

Traditionally the middle to end of July is the time for young men to become monks and for all monks to closet themselves in one monastery for three months (their Lenten season). The day is an official holiday and it is a good time to view young men shave their heads, take vows and become monks. The day is celebrated in the Northeast, especially in Ubon, by parading and placing giant carved candles on floats.

August 12th is the Queen’s birthday and therefore a public holiday. In Bangkok, the Grand Palace and Ratchadamnoen Avenue are lit up like a Christmas tree.

This race takes place in September on the Chao Phaya River in Bangkok near Rama IX Bridge.

The King and Queen frequently attend this week-long festival every year in September at Narathiwat, the capital of the southernmost province of Thailand. An accent is placed on local culture including music and dance and handicrafts displays. There are also boat races.

From late September to early October pious Chinese Buddhists in Trang and on Phuket have a nine-day period devoted to the consumption of vegetables. It may not sound very festive to beefeaters but they see it as a chance to earn merit and there are ceremonies and processions at Chinese temples. Health faddists should enjoy it as well, although it’s early for pumpkins.

This is a one-month period toward the end of the Buddhist Lenten season (mid-October to mid-November) when initiates don new monastic garb.

October 23 is a public holiday in honour of King Chulalongkorn (Rama V). Chulalongkorn reigned from 1868 to 1910 and was a great modernise and very skilful politician as well. It was mainly his achievement that Siam never became a colony of a European power.

Surin, a town in the Northeast, holds an annual elephant romp the third weekend of November. More than 100 elephants are usually present. Among the activities are elephant races and mock battles. While other Thai towns have copied the idea, the Surin elephant round up is still the largest and most fascinating.

In Kanchanaburi every night in late November and early December, sound and light shows re-enact scenes from the construction of the Death Railway through trackless jungle. There are also historical displays and train rides or combination bus-train rides to historical sites.

December 5 is the King’s birthday and thus a public holiday, which is celebrated with a large number of programs especially in Bangkok.