Traditional New Year has now come and gone (today will be January 6, 2008) but there are numerous other days to celebrate inside Thailand.
Here are a few words of caution for the unwary traveler. Many of the holiday season involve celebrating with large quantities of alcohol plus the traffic death toll increases dramatically. This is mainly during the celebrating from the various New Years. Many of the holidays are family-oriented requiring visitors to return back to the nest to celebrate with the rest of the family. Therefore, traffic on the roads might be horrendous.
Here are the principal holidays for 2008. Use them like a guide for your travel strategies.
Chinese New Year will possibly be celebrated on February 8th. This can be a start of the lunar year and it is primarily celebrated in the various Chinatowns throughout Thailand. There will be some business closures but it's not a national holiday.
February 21st is Makha Bucha Time which celebrates the Buddha’s first sermon fond of his disciples.
April 6th, 2008, is Chakri Day and this time commemorates the founding of your Chakri Dynasty. This dynasty is called Rama I. Since this falls on the Sunday, businesses may be shut on Monday the 7th.
Songkran, Thai Fresh Year, is celebrated from 13 – 15 Apr and even longer is a lot of the tourist spots, like Khaosan Path in Bangkok and Pattaya. This is a traditional water festival, so in case you are in town, expect to receive wet. This is also the time of year for most road deaths. Liquor and wet roads don’t combine.
Labor Day is celebrated about the 1st of May and can be a national holiday but most folks just look at it as a paid day away.
The 5th of May can be a holiday to honor the day if your current King of Thailand ended up being crowned. It is officially known as Coronation Day.
Another Buddhist Holy morning is observed on May 19th. This is Visakha Bucha and it is the holiest Buddhist holiday celebrates Adept Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and access into nirvana.
Buddhist Lent begins on July 18 and it is celebrated as a national vacation. Monks retreat to their temples and celebrate a time of year when new life comes forth.
The Queen’s Birthday, or Mother’s Time, is celebrated on August 12th and it is a highly honored, national vacation.
Chulalongkorn Day is observed on October 23 honoring certainly one of Thailand’s most revered kings.
Loy Krathong are going to be celebrated on 13 November coinciding while using the 12th lunar full moon. Thais commemorate by floating small rafts, known as krathongs, in the river, sea or ocean. This is to spend respect to the goddess from the water – with candlelit offerings floating away the bad and bringing all the best to lovers. This is the most effective holiday to observe firsthand.
Their Majesty the King will commemorate his 81st birthday on 12 5th. This is a national holiday celebrated during the entire country and also doubles since Father’s Day.
The 10th of December marks the afternoon in 1932 that the country was given its first Constitution. This is usually a national holiday.
The last day of the month will celebrate the end of 2008 and the start of 2009. The Thais celebrate the standard western New Years especially in Bangkok and also other tourist areas.
That covers the main holidays but no specific elections. Elections can pop up at anytime so you should keep current with Thai online news. They don’t have much effect aside from the occasional bar closure. There you have it – plan your vacation accordingly.