Holidays and Festivals in April
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February to April
Kite Flying season
Following old tradition Thai people play kites during these months of the northeast monsoon throughout the country. Not only for pleasure but also for sportive competitions. Big and colorful paper kites are played and fight against each other. They symbolize the battle of the sexes, in which opposing teams fly male (chula) and female (pakpao) kites. The small agile pakpao with a long tail tries to bring down the more cumbersome chula (about 2 meters), while the male kite seeks to snare the female kites and bring them back into male territory. |  |
| These kite flying competitions can be watched in the afternoons on Sanam Luang, a large square near Wat Phra Keo/Grand Palace in Bangkok. There is an international kite flying festival in Pattaya every year in April. | |
March 23 to April 3
Thao Suranari Festival
A festival which takes place in Korat, northeastern Thailand. Colorful processions and parades, historical exhibitions as well as traditional and entertaining performances are held in order to pay homage to the national female hero Thao Suranari. In 1826 she succeeded, as a leader of her people, to push back a Laotian invasion. | |
April 6
Chakri Day
(public holiday)
Chakri Day is celebrated in the capital Bangkok and it pays homage to King Rama I who was the founder of the present ruling Chakri dynasty. It is the only day in the year when the Pantheon (Prasat Phra Thepidorn) in Wat Phra Keo in Bangkok is open for public. This cross-shaped building accommodates life-sized statues of the eight deceased Chakri kings. |  |
First Half of April
The Glory of Ayutthaya
Ten days of festive performances takes place in the ruins of the old capital Ayutthaya, north of Bangkok. In the evenings a light and sound show at Wat Mahathat to remind people of the former splendor and glamor of the old city. |  |
April 13 to 15
Songkran Festival
(public holiday April 13)
The traditional Thai New Year's celebrations are also known as the water festival. Thai people have a lot of fun to splashing water on each other and on tourists too. Buckets of water are thrown, even through open windows of cars and buses. | |
Chiang Mai is especially famous for unscrupulous water splashing. Private houses and temples are specially cleaned for this event. In the morning on Songkran Buddha images are “bathed”. Monks and elder family members are splashed with water as a sign of respect. As a first good deed in the new year people who sell fish and birds in bowls or cages, set them free.
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