Major Thai Festivals and Events

Thailand, a country rich in culture, heritage, and history and known for its high tourism rate every year. Thailand has almost everything to offer its all kinds of travelers irrespective of the age group. Despite being popular for its scenic splendors including the glimmering beaches, water sport activities, religious places and also the food, there are numerous enchanting festive celebrations going on a full swing in the country and the country is busy in the celebration of these festivals throughout the year. The country celebrates festivals in almost every month and in some of the months there is a chain of festivals. I personally believe that there is no other better way to gain some of the most memorable experiences of the trip rather than taking part in the celebration of the festivals of that country.

Here is the list of some most popular festivals celebrated in Thailand

Phi Tha Khon (Ghost Festival)

Also called as the Ghost Festival, Phi Tha Khon is one of the most important and auspiciously celebrated traditional festivals of Thailand. One can witness the beauty of local handicrafts, fun-loving and colorful atmosphere, and also a beautiful symbiosis of religious traditions. The celebration goes on for three consecutive days in which thousands of locals wear the colorful and ghastly masks which are designed with phallic noses and stretched faces and are generally painted with gaudy and bright colors. Friday is the day when the main parade is organized and on Saturday, you can enjoy the glory of music shows and other performances, and on Sunday Buddhist ceremonies take place. This traditional festival in Thailand is celebrated on the weekend of the 6th moon according to the lunar calendar.

Songkran Festival

Also called as the water festival in Thailand, Songkran Festival is believed and witnessed to be one of the most enchanting and fun-filled celebrations not only in Thailand but also in the whole world. This joyful festival in the country is celebrated for 3 continuous days in which water fight is organized. People from all across the country gather at a place to take part in the water fight. In this 3 days long water festival people throw water on each other and make them wet from top to bottom by using a bucket, water gun, hose pipe, and other utensils in which they can hold and splash it on others. Every year on 13th of April, Thailand organizes this festival which gets over on 15th of April. Every year in this festival Thai people follows a tradition of paying tribute to their elders and also to their ancestors.

Chinese New Year

Celebrated with great enthusiasm and much fervor at Yaowaraj, Chinese New Year festival is one of the most enthralling festivals organized in the country. Called as the official Chinatown of Bangkok, Yaowaraj houses numerous destinations where one can get some really amazing exciting and fun-filled experiences in the country. Iconic Chinese red lanterns, performances of lion and dragon dancers, bursting firecrackers, and a huge crowd of worshippers are the major things which you are going to witness on this day. This enchanting and fun-filled festival is celebrated either in the month of January or in February. There is a tradition to visit the popular temples and especially the Wat Mangkok Kamalawat which is located on the Charoen Street located in the capital city of Thailand.

Lopburi Monkey Banquet (Food Festival)

The celebration of this festival is organized in Lopburi which is located 150 km towards the north of Bangkok. Also called as Thailand Food Festival, Lopburi Monkey Festival is the day when tourists visiting the place and the locals organize the arrangement of feeding to the monkeys who reside in the area. A total of approx. 3000 monkeys are provided with feast banquet on this day in which they are offered with almost 4 tons of vegetables, fruits, and other edibles. Inarguably, it is one of the unique and the most interesting festivals to be celebrated in the country. Be little alert and maintain the distance from the monkeys or else they are going to climb on you. This unique festival is celebrated in the month of November in Thailand.

Yi Peng (Lantern Festival)

Visiting Thailand during the festive season of Lantern festival leaves the tourists to spellbind with more spectacular and amazing experiences. Likewise, China and Vietnam, Thailand also celebrates this festival with much fervor and enthusiasm and you will get to see some really amazing sights. People coming from all around the country gather at the riverbank of Peng River. Kids come out from their home and burn the paper lantern and then release them in the sky. The beautiful sight of the sky which gets completely adorned with the colorful lanterns which makes it a perfect time to collect some beautiful memories by capturing some nice clicks of the nightlife of this day. Yi Peng is celebrated in the month of November and on the full moon day of the 12th lunar month.

Boon Bang Fai (Rocket Festival)

Also called as Rocket Festival, Boon Bang Fai is celebrated by the farming communities in Thailand. The farming communities of Issan which is situated in the northeastern part of the country celebrate this festival. The festival is celebrated before the commencement of the planting season and there is a tradition to fire a rocket in the sky with an intention to encourage god to send enough amount of rainfall for the crops. Elaborate rockets are installed and get paraded on the very first day of the Boon Bang Fai Festival and later get launched in the sky throughout the entire week. Rocket parade is accompanied by beauty pageants, consumption of local rice wine, fun-filled party, and also the folklore songs of the community. This traditional festival is celebrated in the month of either June or July.

Wing Kwai

Also known as Buffalo Racing Festival, Wing Kwai is the festival in which buffalo racing is organized every year in the country. This beautiful tradition of buffalo racing is in culture from the last 100 years. The race course where this buffalo racing festival is organized is situated in front of the popular Chonburi City Hall and is around 100 meters long. This major festival in Thailand is not only limited to buffalo racing and also alludes the audiences with the buffalo decoration competition and buffalo beauty competition, and there are many more competitions on the list. After attending these gaming activities, you can also witness some other adventurous gaming activities on this day. This buffalo festival is celebrated in the month of October every year.

Surin Elephant Festival

The name of this festival clearly states that the festival is dedicated to elephants which are also called as giant animals. As per the heavy contribution of elephants in the historical wars, traveling, and for agricultural process in the ancient times of Thailand, the country decided to show the honor and respect to this huge animal by celebrating this auspicious festival every year. Likewise, Lord Ganesha is the most worshipped god in the country and is given huge importance in Thailand. If you are visiting Thailand near around the 3rd week of November this year then you are surely going to take part in this festival and also to understand the rich culture and history of the country.

Mother’s Day and Father’s Day

The very best thing about this country is that it never leaves the chance to show their devotion and honor to the monarchs. This is how they celebrate the birthdays of Kings and Queens of the country and call the day as Father’s Day and Mother’s Day. Every year on the 5th of December the whole country gets engaged in the celebration of Father’s Day and similarly on 12th of August they celebrate Mother’s Day. Both these days are celebrated with great pomp and much fervor and the days are declared as National holidays in Thailand. On this day the citizens of the country keep themselves engaged in organizing music shows, parades, they also go to temples, and the city gets adorned with various food stalls serving lip-smacking delicacies.

Mekong Naga Fireballs

This is the other popular and auspiciously celebrated festival in Thailand in which people from different parts of the world come and take part in the celebration. The festival has been named after the popular Mekong River and so the venue of celebrating this festival is selected as the backside area of this river. One can observe more than thousand reddish-pink balls of light glimmering in the sky and making the sky look colorful and beautiful. The balls rise up to a height of almost 600 feet above in the sky. There are numerous argues behind this raising of balls in the sky. Locals believe it to be a supernatural power whereas scientists believe that it happens due to the combustion of sulfur in the air. However, these arguments don’t affect the size of the crowd taking part in the festival. Mekong Naga Fireballs Festival is celebrated in the month of October or November.