The Remarkable Local Festivals Of Thailand (2022 - 2023)

Loy Krathong & Yi Peng Lantern Festival
November 7th - 9th, 2022 
Loy Krathong and Yi Peng occur simultaneously across northern Thailand, Chiang Mai has gained a reputation with the festivals. The celebration of Loy Krathong is probably the most lovely and enchanting in Thailand. Krathong is small rafts or baskets, whereas the term Loy (or Loi) means to float. The Krathong, which is often made from banana leaves or the bark of a banana tree, usually includes a candle, incense, and flowers. The candle and incense are then lit and a wish is made before the Krathong is placed on the nearest stretch of water. It is believed that the Krathong carries away bad luck and signals a fresh start.
  The Lopburi Monkey Buffet Festival
The last Sunday of November 
On the last Sunday in November when the town of Lopburi in central Thailand hosts its annual monkey banquet. The festival first started in the 1980s thanks to the inspiration of a local businessman. His idea was to provide a buffet of fruit and food for the monkeys as a way of expressing gratitude for the primates whose presence brought in welcome tourist revenue to the town. The event has grown in size over the years and thousands of local and overseas tourists descend on Lopburi to see the monkey banquet and the associated festivities. 
  Makha Bucha Day
March 6th, 2023 
Magha Puja Day is also known as Sangha Day or Fourfold Assembly Day in most Buddhist countries and is observed on the first full moon day of the month of Magh, which tends to fall in the Gregorian months of January or February. The day commemorates a time when 1,250 Buddhists spontaneously came together to pay their respect to the Buddha. The festival is in honor of the Sangha, or the Buddhist community, and is a chance for people to reaffirm their commitment to Buddhism.
  Songkran - Water Festival - Thai New Year 
April 13th -14th, 2023 
The annual Songkran New Year Water Festival which welcomes the traditional Thai New Year is one of those events that has to be experienced in person to begin to appreciate the enormity of the spectacle and the uniqueness of the occasion. In Thailand, Songkran is an annual nationwide party with playful water fights breaking out in villages and cities the length and breadth of the country. Whilst it’s the water fights and party atmosphere that understandably captures the imagination of most tourists, there is so much more to the festivities.
  Phi Ta Khon - Thai Ghost Festival 
June or July 2023 
During the ghost festival, the quiet farming village of Dan Sai is transformed by colorful, masked spirits who dance and parade through the streets. The three-day Thai festival is a re-enactment of a Buddhist story and a celebration of animist reincarnation beliefs. Villagers dress in patchwork costumes and long-nosed, painted masks made from rice husks. They wear bells around their waists to announce the presence of spirits and wave swords and phallic charms as they parade through the streets. On the second day, rockets filled with good luck tokens are fired to pray for rain and there is traditional dancing and an award for the best-dressed ghost. On the third day, people gather to listen to monks recite thirteen sermons about Lord Buddha.