Thailand has many beautiful festivals which are held throughout the year. The festivals listed below are the ones we celebrate at school. Some are public holidays and others are just normal days. You may notice by browsing the list that we celebrate New Years three times and even Christmas Day! Thai people love to have fun and they take every opportunity to take part in celebrations. It doesn't matter if it is their own or borrowed from another country.

• Children's Day (second Saturday of January) - a celebration of the role that children play in society
• Chinese New Year - a special ceremony at school for those of Chinese descent
• Songkran Festival (13th April-15th April) - the traditional Thai New Year celebrations and a chance to throw a lot of water
• Sunthorn Phu Day (26th June) - Thailand's best well-known poet
• Scout Day (1st July) - founding of Scouting in Thailand
• Queen's Birthday/Mother's Day (12th August) - the Queen is regarded as mother to all Thai people so her birthday is also celebrated as Mother's Day
• Chulalongkorn Day (23rd October) - students pay respect to King Rama V who is one of the most revered kings in Thai history
• Loy Krathong (full moon in late October/November) - the beautiful water festival
• King's Birthday/Father's Day (5th December) - the King is regarded as father to all Thai people so his birthday is also Father's Day.
• Christmas Day (25th December) - two students dress up as Santa Claus and together with little Angels hand out sweets to the younger students. Later, the students dance around the Christmas tree and sing carols
• New Year's Party (end of December) - the third and final celebrations for New Years

There are, of course, many more festivals during the year in Thailand. For a more complete list, please visit our Festivals of Thailand web site. We have a separate section for the Buddhist Festivals at our school.