Thailand (Lonely Planet, 13th Edition) - China Williams [4]
JULY
AUGUST
SEPTEMBER–OCTOBER
NOVEMBER
DECEMBER
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Religious holidays make up the bulk of Thailand’s festival line-up but that doesn’t mean that these are solely prayer and incense affairs. Many religious holidays are based on the lunar calendar, causing the exact dates to vary. For specific dates, visit the website of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) at www.tourismthailand.org. Dozens of smaller festivals offer snapshots of provincial culture; see the respective destination chapters for more information.
JANUARY–FEBRUARY
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CHINESE NEW YEAR Jan-Feb
Called rùt jeen, Thais with Chinese ancestry celebrate their ancestral lunar new year with a week of house-cleaning and fireworks. Phuket (Click here), Bangkok (Click here) and Nakhon Sawan all host citywide festivities, but in general Chinese New Year is more of a family event.
MAKHA BUCHA Feb-Mar
One of three holy days marking important moments of Buddha’s life, Makha Bucha (Mah•ká Boo•chah), on the full moon of the third lunar month, commemorates Buddha preaching to 1250 enlightened monks who came to hear him ‘without prior summons’. A public holiday, it’s mainly a day for temple visits. Organisations and schools will often make merit as a group at a local temple.
APRIL
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SONGKRAN 12-14 Apr
Thailand’s famous water fight marks the Thai New Year (12 to 14 April; dates vary). The traditional religious activities are held in the morning and involve showing respect to elders and sacred temple images by sprinkling water on them. Afterwards Thais in Chiang Mai (Click here) and Bangkok (Click here) load up their water guns and head out to the streets for battle: water is thrown, catapulted and sprayed from roving commandos and outfitted pick-up trucks at willing and unwilling targets.
MAY–JUNE
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ROYAL PLOUGHING CEREMONY May
This royal ceremony employs astrology and ancient Brahman rituals to kick-off the rice-planting season. Sacred oxen are hitched to a wooden plough and part the ground of Sanam Luang (Click here) in Bangkok. The ritual was revived in the 1960s by the king, and Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn has assumed the ceremony’s helm.
ROCKET FESTIVAL May-Jun
In the northeast, where rain can be scarce, villagers craft bamboo rockets (bâng fai) that are fired into the sky to encourage the rains to be plentiful for the upcoming rice-planting season. This festival is celebrated in Yasothon (Click here), Ubon Ratchathani (Click here) and Nong Khai (Click here).
VISAKHA BUCHA May-Jun
The holy day of Visakha Bucha (Wí•sh•kà Boo•chah) falls on the 15th day of the waxing moon in the sixth lunar month and commemorates the date of the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and parinibbana (passing away). Activities are centred around the temple.
BUN PHRA WET Jun
This Buddhist holy day is given a Carnival makeover at the Phi Ta Khon Festival (Click here) in Dan Sai village’. Revellers disguise themselves in garish ‘spirit’ costumes and parade through the village streets wielding wooden phalluses and downing rice whisky. The festival commemorates a Buddhist legend in which a host of spirits (pče, also spelt ‘phi’) appeared to greet the Buddha-to-be (Prince Vessantara or Phra Wet), the penultimatebirth.
JULY
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ASALHA BUCHA Jul
The full moon of the eighth lunar month commemorates Buddha’s first sermon during Asalha Bucha (Ah•shn•hà Boo•chah). During Khao Phansaa, worshippers make offerings of candles other necessities to the temples and attend ordinations.
KHAO PHANSAA Jul
The day after Asalha Bucha marks the beginning of Buddhist Lent (the first day of the waning moon in the eighth lunar month), the traditional time for men to enter the monkhood and the start of the rainy season when monks typically retreat inside the monastery for a period of study and meditation. In Ubon Ratchathani, candle wax offerings have grown into elaborately carved sculptures that are shown off during the Candle Parade (Click here).
AUGUST
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