EVENTS

Public Holidays

5 May - Coronation Day
1 Jan - New Year's Day
Jan-Mar - Magha Puja
6 Apr - Chakri Day
Apr - Songkhran Festival
23 Oct - Chulalongkorn Day
5 Dec - King's Birthday
Jul - Khao Phansaa
10 Dec - Constitution Day
12 Aug - Queen's Birthday
Jul - Asalha Puja
May - Visakha Puja

Kite Flying Festival ( Mar - Apr)
In March when the wind never fails to blow and the sky is clear and bright, people go to Sanam Luang, the main ground opposite the Grand Palace, to join or watch kite flying, an activity popular in this country since ancient times. A Thai kite fighting contest is held annually.

Bangkok Songkran Festival (Apr)
The traditional Thai New Year, joyfully celebrated citywide and countrywide with rituals of merit making, cleaning houses, honouring elders, parades of dancers and music troupes, and boat races. In Bangkok the event is held in grand-scale around the Rattanakosin Island, i.e. the Grand Palace and Sanam Luang area, and the nearby Khaosan Road. The revered Phra Buddha Sihing image will be carried to Sanam Luang to be bathed by devotees. What makes the festival most fun and interesting is water splashing.

Ploughing Ceremony (May)
Presided over by the King, this ancient Brahmanic ceremony is held at Sanam Luang to mark the beginning of the planting season and to bless the farmers with bumper harvests in the year.

Loi Krathong (Nov)
Loi KrathongThe event is observed citywide and nationwide. In the evening, people gather at the waterside to float krathong, lotus-shaped vessels lovely decorated with flowers and lit candles, as a thanksgiving and worship to the Goddess of Water. There are also fun fairs, concerts, beauty contests and other entertainment activities.

Golden Mount Fair (November or December)
Annually held 7 nights and 8 days (from the 11th day of the waxing moon of the 12th lunar month to the 3rd of the waning moon of the same month), the event's purpose is to worship the Buddha's relics enshrined in the Golden Mount in the compound of Saket Temple. It features folk plays, sales of foods and other products, and amusements.

Military Parade (Dec)
The Royal Guards are on parade before the King on the Ground of King Rama V's Equestrian Statue to show their readiness, unity and loyalty to the three most important institutions of the country-- the King, the nation and the religion.