Public Holiday in Thailand for Queen’s Birthday
Queen Sirikit of Thailand celebrates her 76th birthday today. The day is marked as a public holiday in Thailand and it’s no coincidence that the occasion of the queen’s birthday is also the date for Mother’s Day as Queen Sirikit is fondly regarded as the mother of the nation.
In her birthday address given to dignitaries [...]
Hua Hin Jazz Festival, 2008
The Hua Hin Jazz Festival has been going since 2002 and this year is expected to attract over 60,000 visitors to the seaside resort south of Bangkok. With a line up of international and local musicians, the Hua Hin Jazz Festival has become a well-established event attracting tourists from all over Thailand as well as [...]
Buddha Day: Visakha Puja
Today is a public holiday in Thailand to mark Visakha Puja Day*, the most important Buddhist holiday. It marks the three most significant dates in the life of the Lord Buddha commemorating the day on which he was born, achieved enlightenment and passed into Nirvana. All three events occurred on the full moon of the [...]
Royal Ploughing Ceremony
Following today’s Royal Ploughing Ceremony in Bangkok, royal astrologers have predicted a bumper rice crop and abundant supplies of food. In a country where superstitions and old traditions still play a part in everyday life, the forecast is based on two royal oxen eating rice and hay out of seven food offerings.
Although the day isn’t [...]
Thailand Public Holiday: Coronation Day
May 5th is a holiday in Thailand as it marks the Coronation Day of King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Known in Thai as Wan Chatramongkhol (Coronation Day), banks and government offices in Thailand are closed today.
The world’s longest reigning monarch, King Bhumibol actually came to the throne in 1946, but the coronation was delayed until May [...]
Songkran Day
Although festivities and water throwing began yesterday in many places, today is the day when just about everybody joins in with the Songkran celebrations.
April 13th is the traditional day when Buddha images are paraded through streets and Thai people sprinkle them with lustral water (pictured). People visit temples and make-merit and everybody throws water [...]
Songkran Chaos
Songkran celebrations kicked off in earnest today for the Thai water festival with large-scale water throwing in towns and cities up and down Thailand. In some rural areas children have been playing Songkran all week, but elsewhere there were only isolated pockets of water throwing up until today.
In Chiang Mai there’s been evidence of the [...]