Thailand is a country that is rich in history and culture, inevitably leading to many national festivals and events that occur throughout the country.  Below is a list of some of the most important events that occur annually in Thailand.

Songkran

Songkran is the most well-known of all Thai festivals.  Songkran celebrates the official Thai New Year and occurs every year on April 13th and lasts for 2-3 days depending on the year.  During the festival people swarm the streets with water guns, buckets of water, water balloons, etc. with the goal of getting passersby as wet as possible!  In Thai culture, water is a symbol of cleansing.  The idea of the huge water fight that is Songkran is for Thai people to enter the New Year with a clean physical, mental, and spiritual body.

Phi Ta Khon

Phi Ta Khon is a tradition that occurs in the Dan Sai district of the Loe Province in Isan.  Phi Ta Khon is more well-known as the ghost festival because it celebrates this region’s beliefs surrounding the concepts of ghosts and spirits.  The festival occurs annually in June or July.  Phi Ta Khon is a very colorful festival in which men dress up in bright and flamboyant costumes and masks to portray these ghosts and spirits.  Phi Ta Khon is a hugely joyous celebration full of dancing and merriment.

Monkey Buffet

Animal lovers rejoice! This hilarious festival is celebrated on the last Sunday of November every year in the town of Lopburi.  The town serves a huge buffet of food to feed their main tourist attraction — monkeys!  Come take amazing pictures of this happy feast.

Loi Krathong

Loi Krathong is celebrated during the full moon of the 12th lunar months.  On the evening of the festival, thousands of locals congregate at their local river or canal.  Using banana leaves, they replicate a small lotus flower.  Then, they light a candle to place in the middle of the flower and place it in the river where it floats off into the distance.  Before letting their Krathong (banana leaf lotus flower) float away, individuals make a wish and hope for the wish to come true.  The entire festival is a truly amazing spectacle as all of the krathongs float down the river, candles glowing in the night.  If you are in Thailand during the festival, it is something you really cannot afford to miss.

Ubon Ratchatani Candle Festival

This festival occurs at the beginning of August during the Buddhist Lenten period.  During the festival, artists creating huge was sculptures as a Buddhist offering.  Spectators stand by as these wax figures are paraded through the streets.  A dream come true for all lovers of art!