A parade that forms part of the Loy Kratong celebrations in Chiang Mai.
When planning your trip, you should be aware of the major national holidays celebrated throughout the country. However, although businesses and government offices are closed on public holidays, tourist attractions and shops are almost never closed. The main impact on the tourist of these holidays is the increased competition for travel and accommodation from Thais who use long weekends to get away from the big city.
The list below shows all of the public holidays as well as some of the more important nationwide celebrations that aren't national holidays. Many of the most important holidays on the Thai calendar are based on the lunar calendar and therefore will occur on different days from year to year. The dates for these holidays in are calculated estimates and may be subject to correction. There are almost always festivals or other events arranged around these dates:
Many Thais trace their roots to China. Officially, 14% of the population of Thailand is Chinese, but depending on current fashion, a far greater percent may identify themselves as “Thai-Chinese”. Whatever the facts may be, most Thais like any excuse for a party – or a sale – and the “Chinese” or Lunar New Year is no exception. The holiday is celebrated all over Thailand, especially in those areas with large populations of Chinese, such as Bangkok, where the city's Chinatown area is usually the scene of a large block party.
Fancy kratongs on sale at a Chiang Mai market. Although not an official public holiday, Loy Kratong is one of the most popular and romantic of Thailand's traditional festivals. The festival is held on the night of the 12th full moon, which lands some time in November. The festival is held to pay homage to the goddess of rivers and waterways, Mae Nam.
Kratongs as well as the supplies to make them can be purchased in the markets.
Makha Bucha, sometimes spelled Magha Puja, is one of the most important dates in the Buddhist calendar. Celebrated on the full moon night of the third lunar month, it is a day of veneration, marking the day nine months after Buddha's enlightenment when 1,250 of his ordained followers spontaneously gathered to hear Him give a sermon, at which he established the basic tenants of the monastic order - the Sangha.
Typical Songkran mayhem on the streets of Bangkok The Thai New Year - Songkran - is perhaps the most quintessentially Thai holiday, although truth be told it is also celebrated in Laos and Cambodia. Songkran is also one of those holidays where the contemporary celebrations vary drastically from the traditional forms. As the English name implies, Songkran is the traditional start of the Buddhist New Year as well as the end of the dry season.
