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“The country’s colourful Top Thai Festivals
variety of options for 1. Songkran Festival
planning incentive themed (Month of April, Celebrated Nationwide)
parties should provide a
memorable reason to visit.” There is nowhere better to begin our list of
festivals than with Thailand’s most famous:
Songkran, also known as the Thai New Year.
This huge festival is celebrated from April 13th
to 15th throughout the nation, with plenty of
water-splashing. For those who want a more
authentic experience, Chiang Mai in Northern
Thailand is renowned for its spectacular
Songkran processions, culture shows and
beauty contests.
2. Loy Krathong
(Month of November, Celebrated Nationwide)
As the full moon of the 12th month of the Thai
Lunar calendar lights up the night sky, devotees
throughout the Kingdom make candle-lit offer-
ings to the water goddess Phra Mae Khongkha,
which are then set to float in rivers, canals, lakes
and seas. Taking place around the same time is
another well known festival called Yi Peng, also
known as The Lantern Festival, in which hun-
dreds of Lanna-style lanterns are launched into
the air, their glowing fires illuminating the night
sky. Known as a time of merit-making, most of
the celebrations centre around Chiang Mai.
3. Chiang Mai Flower Festival
(Month of February, Celebrated in Chiang Mai)
Taking place during the first weekend of
February, the city of Chiang Mai is transformed
into a botanical parade, showcasing beautiful
flowers and decorative plants. Gorgeous floats
will also be making rounds of the city, while oth-
er highlights include the Flower Queen Beauty
Pageant and the flower arrangement contest.
4. Phuket Vegetarian Festival
(Month of October, Celebrated in Phuket)
Celebrating the Chinese community’s belief of
abstinence from meat and various stimulants,
this festival has some unique, or some would
say, extreme practices. Expect to see superhu-
man displays of firewalkers and razor blade
ladder climbing.
TICA MEMBERSHIP DIRECTORY 2018 - 2019 177
