There are a lot of reasons why festivals are being celebrated in different places. And if you want to make your Thailand travel a little more special, celebrating Thailand events with the locals is the best way.
Through attending some of the Thailand holidays, you will get to really experience what it is like to be a local of Thailand, knowing how and why they celebrate these events, and a little background about them. So for your travel itinerary, keep this list of different Thailand events you can attend to when you visit the country, and make your Thailand travel more meaningful and exciting.
- Loy Krathong
One of the things to do in Thailand If you are visiting on the 2nd week of November, is to join the celebration of the Loy Krathong on November 14, this Thailand event is one of the most beautiful holiday festivals.
The word “Loy” means float and “Krathong” is a Thai floating structure specific to the holiday. A cross-section of a banana tree trunk is decorated with flowers and banana leaves. During the festival, there will be a handful of krathongs for sale around the main Loy Krathong celebration areas.
Today, instead of using banana tree trunk, locals use bread or Styrofoam for their krathong. When you already have with you your krathong, go to the waterside, light the candles and incense sticks, make everyone in your family wish, and then send the krathong to the water to float. It is believed that this ritual sends away troubles and offers up your prayers and wishes with the candles and incense. And try to follow the light with your eyes as long as you can.
Aside from letting the krathongs float in water, other traditions of the Loy Krathong is letting turtles and eels free in a pond or river. The grandest celebration of Loy Krathong is at Chiang Mai where their parades include large floats which act as giant krathongs, designed with their own themes. Celebrants who are on these floats are in regal Thai costumes or mythical Thai beings.
- Surin’s Elephant Round-up
Another festival you can celebrate when you visit Thailand this coming November is Surin’s Elephant Round-up that takes place in Surin, a province in the northern part of Thailand that is also known as the “Land of Elephants”. Surin is also known as the world’s largest domestic village. This festival is celebrated every 3rd weekend of the month through a parade of around 300 domesticated elephants joined also by students and teachers, plus the famous “elephant breakfast”, and cultural performances and other entertainment and food for everyone to enjoy.
- Songkran Festival
The Songkran Festival every April 13- 15 is the Thai New Year. During this time, most of the small establishments close down, except for big shopping malls that remain open. Thai residents take this time to come home to their provinces to reunite with their families.
On the first day of the Songkran Festival, Thais will do the Rod Nam Dum Hua ritual where scented water will be given to the elders by the younger people as an indication of humility and to ask for blessings. The 2nd day is officially the National Family Day, where Thais will offer alms to monks and spend the rest of the day having quality time with their family. “Bathing the Buddha Image” is one of the most important ritual during this festival where Buddhists will pour scented water to Buddha statues in temples and at home.
The act of pouring water for Thais is a way to wash off misfortunes in the previous year.
- Lopburi Sunflower Festival
A small province in Central Thailand called Lopburi is 2 ½ hours away from Bangkok. In this province you will find many fields because the local economy uses them to produce sunflower seeds oil and sunflower seeds for snack. And just before harvest, the sunflowers create huge yellow fields that serve as tourist attractions for Lopburi.
Best time to see the Lopburi Sunflower Festival is during its winter season which is November – March. Also make sure to leave Bangkok early in the morning just in time for you to arrive in Lopburi where the sunflowers rise and face the sun. Some farmers charge 10 baht to enter the fields and let you take pictures. But there are also fields on the roadside that have blooming sunflowers as well. You can also find stalls that sell souvenirs and snacks around the area.
- Yi Peng Lantern Festival
The Yi Peng festival is special to northern Thailand, and is connected to the ancient Lanna Kingdom. It was because of the Brahmin origins which made Yi Peng celebrated as an individual event signifying the end of rainy season and the start of winter. Today, Yi Peng is being celebrated at the same time with the Loy Krathong, and though it is observed in different parts of Northern Thailand, Chiang Mai has become closely synonymous with Yi Peng.
The surrounding moats in the Old Town of Chiang Mai will be filled with lanterns during the Yi Peng Festival. Coconut leaves and flowers are added as decorations to the entry way of temples and houses. Lighted candles and lanterns are also placed in the entrances of shops, temples and homes. Making the lanterns or donating them to the temples are considered as good deeds, and the lighting of the lantern symbolizes the escape from the darkness going to a brighter future in the Buddhism culture.
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Source: 1. http://www.thailandforchildren.com/thailand-family-travel/loy-krathong-thailand-family-holiday 2. http://thedailyroar.com/culture/lopburi-sunflower-festival/ 3. http://www.thaizer.com/festivals/chiang-mai-yi-peng-festival-mae-jo-lantern-release-2016/