Annual festivals play a big role in Thai life. Commemorative or celebrative, festivals in Thailand are usually lots of fun. While some festivities, such as those in honour of the current or former Thai Kings take place on fixed days, many festivals are related to Buddhism and as such determined by the lunar calendar.
Besides the annual commemorative and religious celebrations, all sorts of other events go on throughout the year! No matter what time or month you happen to be in Bangkok, you are most likely to find something is going on. Depending on the nature and occasion, events can last from anywhere from a day to a month, and be anything from lifestyle, food, sports, culture and arts, music or business-related.
Some festivals provide cultural insights, others offer brilliant shopping bargains and most likely, there will be lots of culinary delights involved. Lose yourself in ancient traditions, vibrant ceremonies and the joy of the people revelling in the best of Thai culture
January
There is bound to be something happening in Bangkok while you're here. For events ranging from food and shopping promotions to shows and concerts, our What's On section (featuring the current and following month) will have you covered. Trade Fairs & Exhibitions, however, are planned long in advance and there's something interesting happening in the Thai capital every month.
February
There is bound to be something happening in Bangkok while you're here. For events ranging from food and shopping promotions to shows and concerts, our What's On section (featuring the current and following month) will have you covered. Trade Fairs & Exhibitions, however, are planned long in advance and there's something interesting happening in the Thai capital every month.
Head down to Yaowarat, Bangkok's Chinatown, where old buildings of vintage-style architecture peep through neon ideograms. Take your senses for a stroll and behold the transition from the Year of the Pig to the Reign of the Rat. With as much as 14% of Thailand's population claiming Chinese ancestry, celebrations in Bangkok are big news! (Read More)
March
There is bound to be something happening in Bangkok while you're here. For events ranging from food and shopping promotions to shows and concerts, our What's On section (featuring the current and following month) will have you covered. Trade Fairs & Exhibitions, however, are planned long in advance and there's something interesting happening in the Thai capital every month.
April
There is bound to be something happening in Bangkok while you're here. For events ranging from food and shopping promotions to shows and concerts, our What's On section (featuring the current and following month) will have you covered. Trade Fairs & Exhibitions, however, are planned long in advance and there's something interesting happening in the Thai capital every month.
Visitors to Bangkok from April 13 to 15 should brace themselves for a thorough soaking as young and old take to the streets to celebrate Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year. Also known as the 'Water Festival', this custom of water throwing is of important religious significance, but has also turned into great fun over the years. Since it happens to fall in the hottest season of the year too, getting soaked offers welcome relief from the soaring temperatures. Find out all you need to know, including special events taking place in the capital. (Read More)
May
There is bound to be something happening in Bangkok while you're here. For events ranging from food and shopping promotions to shows and concerts, our What's On section (featuring the current and following month) will have you covered. Trade Fairs & Exhibitions, however, are planned long in advance and there's something interesting happening in the Thai capital every month.
Royal Ploughing Ceremony
Celebrated on the full-moon day in May, Visaka Bucha Day is the holiest day of the Buddhist year, commemorating birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha. Don't miss the public and picturesque candlelit evening procession around Bangkok's Wat Benjamabophit.
The Royal Ploughing Ceremony, which normally takes place around the second week of May at Sanam Luang close to the Grand Palace, is an important cultural happening in a country where agriculture sustains the livelihood of the majority of people on the countryside. The colourful ceremony, presided over by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, signals the start of the rice-planting season, and is conducted as a good omen to ensure a bountiful harvest in the forthcoming year.
The Ploughing Ceremony dates back more than 2,500 years and has Brahman origins. Even today Brahman astrologers set the exact date and time for the ceremony. During the Sukhothai period (13th and 14th centuries), the event was a magnificent affair involving long processions led by the ruling monarch. In the current Chakri period, the original rites and ceremonies have been carefully maintained. His Majesty the King appoints a Ploughing Lord (Phya Raek Nah) to carry out the rites. The Phya Raek Nah chooses from three 'panungs' (a long cloth worn about the hips). If he chooses the longest one, there will be little rain during the coming year. The shortest cloth means rain will be plentiful, while the medium-length panung denotes average rainfall.
A procession follows with sacred bulls, adorned with flowers, drawing a red and gold plough. Green-costumed drummers, Brahmans chanting and blowing conch shells, umbrella bearers and four 'nang thepi' or Celestial Maidens carrying gold and silver baskets filled with rice seeds, follow in the procession. Once the bulls have turned a few furrows, they are presented with seven different foods and drinks: rice, beans, maize, hay, sesame, water and liquor. Whichever the bulls choose to eat or drink should be plentiful during the coming year.
After the furrows have been ploughed, the Ploughing Lord scatters rice seeds over the newly turned earth. Once the ceremony is over, hundreds of people will rush to the spot in the hope of gathering some of the precious and sacred rice grains to ensure a good crop of rice in the next season. May 11 was also declared a Public Holiday (Agricultural Day) in 1966.
(On the eve of The Ploughing Ceremony, a Buddhist ritual called 'The Cultivating Ceremony' is performed in the Royal Chapel of the Temple of the Emerald Buddha within the compounds of the Grand Palace. Rice seeds and those of other crops are blessed, together with ceremonial items to be used in the Ploughing Ceremony. His Majesty the King also presides over these religious rites, where the Ploughing Lord and Celestial Maidens receive the royal blessing. His Majesty the King then presents the Ploughing Lord with the ceremonial ring and sword to be used in the following day's ceremony.)
[Photographs courtesy of Tourism Authority of Thailand]
June
There is bound to be something happening in Bangkok while you're here. For events ranging from food and shopping promotions to shows and concerts, our What's On section (featuring the current and following month) will have you covered. Trade Fairs & Exhibitions, however, are planned long in advance and there's something interesting happening in the Thai capital every month.
Hua Hin Jazz Festival
Over a weekend in late June, well-known musicians from Thailand and abroad play and perform at various outdoor venues throughout the beach resort. Hua Hin is only a few hours drive from Bangkok and makes an excellent weekend getaway!
July
There is bound to be something happening in Bangkok while you're here. For events ranging from food and shopping promotions to shows and concerts, our What's On section (featuring the current and following month) will have you covered. Trade Fairs & Exhibitions, however, are planned long in advance and there's something interesting happening in the Thai capital every month.
August
There is bound to be something happening in Bangkok while you're here. For events ranging from food and shopping promotions to shows and concerts, our What's On section (featuring the current and following month) will have you covered. Trade Fairs & Exhibitions, however, are planned long in advance and there's something interesting happening in the Thai capital every month.
Her Majesty the Queen's Birthday - August 12 (Mother's Day)
In celebration of Her Majesty the Queen's birthday, government buildings around town and nationwide are decorated and illuminated at night with colourful lights. It also celebrated as Mother's Day.
September
There is bound to be something happening in Bangkok while you're here. For events ranging from food and shopping promotions to shows and concerts, our What's On section (featuring the current and following month) will have you covered. Trade Fairs & Exhibitions, however, are planned long in advance and there's something interesting happening in the Thai capital every month.
International Festival of Dance and Music
Designed to position Bangkok as a cultural centre for world-class performing arts in Asia, the capital hosts the International Festival of Dance and Music every year. Each year, the star-studded festival presents an impressive programme of world-class dance and musical performances bringing together the finest international artists and dancers from countries around the world like Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Russia, and France, as well as celebrated Thai artists and performers, many of whom have gained international fame.
Elephant Polo Tournament in Hua Hin
Usually over five days in late September, sitting on elephants, teams from around the world compete in this variation of the traditional game. Various other elephant-related events take place including an elephant parade.
Food Festival in Chinatown
Vibrant Yaowarat Road in Chinatown becomes the sizzling and crackling heart of an exuberant food festival. Stroll down the bustling street, enjoy the delicious sights and absorb the smell and taste of assorted traditional Thai and Chinese dishes. The food celebration also features cultural shows and musical entertainment.
November
There is bound to be something happening in Bangkok while you're here. For events ranging from food and shopping promotions to shows and concerts, our What's On section (featuring the current and following month) will have you covered. Trade Fairs & Exhibitions, however, are planned long in advance and there's something interesting happening in the Thai capital every month.
River Kwai Bridge Week (November 24 - December 7)
The famous Bridge over the River Kwai in scenic Kanchanabri is the setting for this week-long festival featuring spectacular sound and light performances, archaeological and historical exhibitions, and vintage train rides.
The festivities commemorate the first Allied bombing on the notorious River Kwai Bridge on November 28, 1944. Kanchanaburi is only a few hours outside Bangkok and makes a great weekend getaway! It's a popular destination and even more so during the festival. So make sure you book accommodation in advance to avoid disappointment!
Thai Beer Festival (November/December)
As the cooler 'winter' weather finally arrives, beer gardens appear throughout town. The most notable one is found in front of Central World Plaza (former World Trade Centre.) All the major local brews, including Singha, Leo and Chang, as well as international brands such as Heineken, set up tables and stages. Listen to live music, taste local food and enjoy beer!
Ngan Wat Saket
The Wat Saket Fair is one of Thailand's greatest temple fairs. Held around the sacred Golden Mount in Bangkok, which houses remains of the Lord Buddha, the temple grounds open to the public once a year. Pilgrims from Thailand and around the world come Wat Saket to pay respect to the holy relicts. During the festival, the temple grounds turns into a colourful fair selling paper, incense, bells and saffron cloth as well as hundreds of other commercial trinkets and of course food!
The Loy Krathong Festival is a spectacle of exquisite beauty and one of Thailand's most dazzling festivals - a highlight not to be missed if you're heading this way during November.
The festival is a 13th century Sukhothai tradition of Brahmin origin, adapted to Buddhism, to give thanks to the Goddess of water and to seek forgiveness for past misdeeds. Though the precise history of the festival is unknown, several myths have flourished... (Read More)
December
There is bound to be something happening in Bangkok while you're here. For events ranging from food and shopping promotions to shows and concerts, our What's On section (featuring the current and following month) will have you covered. Trade Fairs & Exhibitions, however, are planned long in advance and there's something interesting happening in the Thai capital every month.
Birthday of His Majesty the King - Dec. 5
Flags, lights and portraits of His Majesty the King adorn the streets and building of every town and village on the 5th and the occasion is marked by a huge and spectacular fireworks display near the Grand Palace. Also Father's Day.
Bangkok Jazz Festival
Countless jazz fans are already awaiting the much acclaimed three-night event that kicks off at Sanam Sua Pa (Dusit Palace.) Sponsored by Heineken and supported by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, the Bangkok Jazz Festival has lined up a roster of internationally acclaimed artists. Spend the weekend with friends laying on the lawn, sipping wine and listening to world-class jazz!
Perhaps the most deliberately hedonistic of holidays, New Year's Eve is the culmination of the Lunar year, and time to squeeze in the last of guilty pleasures. Like everywhere else, people in Bangkok head out on the town, searching for a final fix. Seeking some culinary indulgences before the beginning of a rigorous macrobiotic diet, or one last riotous night of hard-core partying? (Read More)
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