Blog about Thailand
In Thailand , New Year is now officially celebrated on 1 January. Songkran was the official New Year until 1888, when it was switched to a fixed date of 1 April. Then in 1940, this date was shifted to 1 January. The traditional Thai New Year Songkran was transformed into a national holiday.
Here are our top picks for the best ways to spend New Year’s Eve in Thailand . Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai. The Rooftops of Bangkok. Asiatique. Walking Street in Pattaya. Khao San Road in Bangkok. On The Chao Phraya River. Surin Beach in Phuket.
The Songkran Festival, also known as the Traditional Thai New Year , is usually celebrated in mid- April . It is one of Thailand’s grandest and most important events. The festival also showcases a bathing ritual where the people pour water on the senior Buddhist monks. This process is believed to bring good luck to them.
Songkran – also known as the Water Splashing Festival – is a celebration to mark the start of the Buddhist New Year. Buddha images are bathed, and younger Thais show respect to monks and elders by sprinkled water over their hands.
List of gift-bringers
Nation | Old man |
---|---|
Thailand | ซานตาคลอส ( Santa Claus ) |
Turkey | Noel Baba (Father Christmas) or Grandfather Gaxan (Alevi areas) 1 January |
Turkmenistan | Aýaz baba |
Ukraine | Святий Миколай (Sviatyj Mykolaj) (St Nicholas), Дід Мороз (Did Moroz) (Grandfather Frost) |
How to wish a happy new year in Thai ? Sawasdee pee maï which means Happy New Year . Suk san wan pee maï which also means Happy New Year (literally happy day of the new year ) For the countdown : 5,4,3,2,1 is haa (5), sii (4), sam (3), song (2) nueng (1) So it will be: haa, sii, sam, song, neung… Kho haï mee kwam suk to wish a lot of happiness .
8 Things to Avoid in Thailand (and What to Do Instead) Places for backpackers to stay. Avoid : Khao San Road. Taking taxis. Avoid : Bargaining a flat rate with a taxi driver. Thai entertainment. Avoid : Ping Pong Shows. What to do in Pattaya. Avoid : Seedy areas of Pattaya. Shopping the markets. What to do in Phuket. Elephant tourist attractions. Tours and sightseeing.
Top tips for finding cheap flights to Thailand. High season is considered to be January , November and December . The cheapest month to fly to Thailand is September .
New Year in Bangkok Countdown Party Locations: Central World Plaza, Siam. Source. Khao San Road. Source. Sanam Luang. Source. Sky Bar at Lebua. Source. Sirocco. Source. Octave Rooftop Bar-Marriott at Hotel Sukhumvit. Source. Park Society-Society So on Sathorn. Source.
Songkran . It is the most popular festival in Thailand. Although there are several other popular festivals in Thailand to be found, which we discuss in this article. But Songkran , which is Thai New Year , is being held all over the country, for several days and in some parts of Thailand, even for more than a week.
Thailand mainly uses the Buddhist calendar which is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian calendar. The year 2020 CE is indicated as 2563 BE in Thailand.
For the January New Year’s celebration , Thai people often exchange gifts with friends and family members. It’s also common for them to pay a visit to their local temple so that they can make merit, participate in temple rites and otherwise ring in the coming year .
So what to eat during Songkran? Khao Chae. Khao Chae is a seasonal royal dish made up of cooked rice cooled in flower-scented water with various condiments . Mango Sticky Rice . Mango Sticky Rice is the infamous Thai dessert loved by all. Thai Margarita. Pad Kee Mao Talay. Prawn Pad Thai .
The Thai capital celebrates with the Bangkok Songkran Splendours Festival which takes place from April 13th to 15th. Events during the festival include water throwing, the ritual bathing of Buddha images, processions and performances. A tempting array of traditional foods are enjoyed throughout the celebrations.
Thailand’s Loi Krathong festival , in which candles are floated downriver on baskets made of banana leaves and wood, is held each year on the twelfth full moon (usually sometime in November). The result, known as Yi Peng Floating Lantern Festival , is a magical twinkling flurry of light.