Thailand has many festivals, and civil and religious celebrations, that are beautiful symbolically and fascinating to witness and participate in. We recommend that you include Thai festivals or holiday in your travel plans. There are many local celebrations upcountry that are well worth attending. You can be sure that most festivalsin Hua Hin will be colorful, loud and fun.
January
1st January: New Year’s Day .To greet the New Year, a range of uniquely Thai traditional and cultural festivities are held in various parts of the country. As day breaks on the first day of the new year the “welcome the dawn” takes place, the Buddhist merit-making ritual, which is followed by giving alms to the Monks.
On the second Saturday of January the Thai People celebrate Children's Day. Many local authorities organise all over Thailand organize fun events for children. In Hua Hin military staff and school teachers arrange Children's Day on the field in front of Ratchata School. Many government sections and private individuals support this event.
Teachers' Day is celebrated on 16 January since 1957. Students are asked to remember the important role teachers play. During the morning respect paying ceremonies to the teachers are held across Hua Hin. On Teachers' Day all the students come to school with flowers and prostrate at teachers' feet to pay them respect. In Thailand, teachers get a lot of respect in the local community.
February
14th February - Valentine’s Day.
Chinese New Year. Hua Hin residents celebrate
Chinese New Year every year at Phonkingpet Public Park. The celebrations are organised jointly by Hua Hin Municipality and the Celebration Holding Committees. In Hua Hin area, there are a lot of Thai-Chinese residents. Until recently the annual Chinese New Year was celebrated among their relatives only, but Hua Hin Municipality has decided to organize Chinese New Year for all Hua Hin residents at the Phonkingpet Public Park.
Maha Boocha (February or March) celebrates the spontaneous gathering of 1,250 of the Lord Buddha’s disciples.
March
Hua Hin International Kite Festival
With each subsequent year, the Hua Hin International Kite Festival attracts an ever-growing number of devoted kite fans, participants and spectators, from all over Thailand as well as from countries around the region, and beyond. The colourful kite festival thus presents a golden opportunity for visitors to savour the international flavour of kite culture in a single trip. The festival is usually held at Rama IV Camp during March.
April
Chakri Day - On 6 April the founding of the Chakri Dynasty is remembered. King Rama I came to the throne on 6 April 1782. The best known past members of the Chakri dynasty are King Rama IV (King Mongkut), who hired Anna Leonowens to educate his children, and his son King Rama V (King Chualalongkorn), who opened the doors of Siam further to the West. King Rama IX, the present King, is the longest ever reigning monarch in the World. He ascended the throne of Thailand in 1946. On Chakri Day HM the King presides over a Religious Ceremony, in order to pay respect to his predecessors. A ceremony will also take place near Memorial Bridge (close to the flower and vegetable market "Pak Klong Talat"), where a statue of King Rama I has been built.
Songkran Festival is the Thai traditional New Year taking place on April 13 of every year. On this day, the younger people will visit their elder relatives with a metal bowl floated with colorful petals, scented candles and “a small branch of pomegranate tree” for sprinkling over elderly persons to express their good wishes. Most of elderly persons will bless them back and give them a handkerchief or some mascots in return.
Tabtim Goddess Festival
Shortly after Songkran takes place annual procession of God Somboon, Hua Hin Goddess and Tabtim Goddess as well as other deities on Naresdamri Road, near Hilton Hotel. he procession takes place at 3pm. Members of club committees prepare lotus flowers, candles and incense sticks for people to buy. On the same occasion, the Sawang Phaisan Foundation from Pranburi joins the procession and brings musicians playing various musical instruments.
May
National Labour Day is on 1st May.
His Majesty’s Coronation in 1946 is celebrated on 5 May.
Royal Ploughing Day. King Bhumibol oversees the ancient Ploughing Ceremony to mark the beginning of the rice-planting season. The ceremony is very important for Thai farmers, because it predicts how much rain will fall and how well the crops will grow. Thousands of farmers come to the Grand Palace to watch.This Ceremony takes place every year in May, on Sanam Luang, the large grass area near the Grand Palace in Bangkok. It marks the beginning of the planting season. It is believed that the amount of rain in the coming season can be predicted from it. Their Majesties the King and Queen are normally present. A "Ploughing Lord" is offered three pieces of cloth of different length. If he chooses the shortest one, rain will be plentiful. The longest one will give very little rain and the intermediate one an intermediate amount of rain. Then the "Ploughing Lord" will plough Sanam Luang with a sacred plough, drawn by white bulls. The bulls are then presented with different kinds of food and drink and whatever they choose to eat or drink is believed to be plentiful that year.
Wisaka Boocha, usually in May, is the holiest Buddhist day, marking the birth, enlightenment, and death of the Buddha. All over the country, people go to temples to listen to sermons by revered monks and make merit. Shortly after sunset, candlelit circumambulations take place around major temples.
Honda Summer Festival @ Hua Hin is organized every year since 2008. It takes place in May on Hua Hin beach. During the Honda musical festival Bossanove, Reggae, Ska, and Dance music is performed on the beach. Many Thai and leading foreign DJs and many bands from all over the world take past in the Hua Hin Honda Festival.
June
The Hua Hin Jazz Festival is another great event annually arranged in June. It is expected to draw thousands of local and overseas visitors to enjoy local and international artists and bands rotating their performances between 2 stages in central downtown.
July
In July or August, the Asan Boocha Day, honors the Buddha’s first sermon over 2,500 years ago. The full-moon day of the eighth lunar month marks the preaching of Lord Buddha's first sermon to his first five disciples after attaining Enlightenment. In the evening, candlelit processions take place in Buddhist temples around the country.
Hua Hin is famous for a source of sea shells. Hua Hin Market Village in cooperation with Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), Hua Hin Municipality, Bangkok Shells Museum, leading hotels and resorts in Hua Hin organize in July Shell Eating Festival. During Shell Eating Festival shells food prepared by local chefs is on sale with special price. On sale are also fashion and decorative items made of shells.
August
Around this time is Khao Phansa, which is the beginning of the Buddhist Rains Retreat (sometimes called Buddhist Lent), during which monks must remain in their temple-monasteries for the three-month period.
On 7th August each year, Thailand observes Rapee Day, commemorating the passing away of Prince Rapee Pattanasak, the father of Thailand's modern legal system. For the Rapee Day celebration are invited many government officials. Chief Judge presides over the Rapee Day celebration.
H.M. Queen Sirikit’s Birthday Celebration (Mother's Day), To display their loyalty and to honour Her Majesty Queen Sirikit on the occasion of her royal birthday, the Thai people decorate their houses and public buildings. Around Bangkok, Ratchadamnoen Avenue, the area around the Grand Palace and other well-known locations are bedecked with coloured lights and magnificent adornments.s on 12 August. It is bank holiday in Thailand. Many celebrations in temples. Main celebrations in Bangkok in front of the palace.
October
Chulalongkorn Day, 23 October, honors one of Thailand’s most revered kings, Rama V.
The end of the Rains Retreat, Ok Phansa in October, is not an official holiday, though there are observances held nationwide.
November
Loi Krathong (full moon festival) is a very special Thai celebration in early November. Everybody float (lawy) banana-leaf (grà'tong') boats bearing flowers, incense, a candle, and a coin, on lakes and rivers throughout the nation. This results in probably the most beautiful sight you can ever see in Asia or maybe in the World! Many believe their “sins” of the past are floated away. This lovely traditional festival is not an official holiday.
You can make your own Krathong, and float it on the pool or the sea so as not to miss out on any luck!
Hua Hin Esarn Festival take place in November at Sampan Club. The festival is organized annually since 2005. About two thousand of Esarn people attend the Hua Hin Esarn Festival every year.
December
The 5th of December is the King’s Birthday Celebrations (Father's Day). King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world's longest reigning monarch, is well beloved and deeply respected by all Thais old and young. The occasion of his royal birthday provides his loyal subjects the opportunity to express their reverence for him. All over the country. buildings and homes are elaborately decorated and the area around the Grand Palace is spectacularly illuminated.
Hua Hin Food Festival was lunched in 2005 to promote tourism and help preserve tradition. It takes place early in December at the Royal Queen Park. This four days festival starts at 7.30 p.m and end at 01:00 a.m.
On 10 December Constitution Day marks the foundation of the Constitutional Monarchy in Thailand. This event took place during the reign of King Rama VII (King Prajadhipok) in 1932. Before that Thailand was an Absolute Monarchy, with all power belonging to the King. Constitution Day is a day on which the Thai people express their gratitude to the King.
Hua Hin Thai Cultural Association Festival is organized annually since 2004 at the Pone King Phet public park in Hua Hin. The aim of the festival is to preserve Thai culture and customs. The Hua Hin Thai Cultural Association Festival is supported by Hua Hin Municipality.
There are also the traditional Western celebrations for Christmas, closely followed by New Year’s Celebrations. On 31 December from 6 p.m. around Queen’s Park Hua Hin residents gather every year for the Countdown to welcome New Year.
