Festivals In Pattaya
There are many festivals in Thailand and Thai people love an excuse for a party or celebration. Pattaya celebrates all of the Thai festivals and a few local ones too. These include religious, traditional, cultural and contemporary festivals. Often you will stumble upon an event taking place in the main centre of the city, such as the walk street, which always adds a charming surprise to any visit.
The biggest of the Pattaya festivals is Songkran, which is the traditional Thai New Year in April, and is nothing less than a riotous water fight. Usually scheduled for the second week of April (according to the lunar calendar), in Pattaya the festival extends for at least a few extra days during which good natured water fights take place all over the town during the day. The town is packed at this time, and it is a good idea to book early.
Traveller tale: Thai New Year’s celebration in Pattaya
Visitors to Pattaya during April will have the option getting involved with the renowned Songkran Festival...more
A bit different from this traditional festival and reflecting the cosmopolitan nature of Pattaya is the annual Pattaya International Music festivals usually held around March. These three day event features an array of artists of different genres from not only Thailand but all around the world. In recent years artists from Korea and Japan have featured prominently. DJ’s also play an assortment of music to dance to. The event attracts a large young and vibrant crowd. It is worth making sure that hotels are booked early if you want to attend this event.
Loy Krathong Festival, held according to the lunar cycle some time in November, is one of the most beautiful of the Pattaya festivals, where people go to the beach to float their krathongs, which are little banana leaf “floats” with a candle, incense sticks, a flower and a coin. People wish for good luck in the coming year as they watch their krathong float out to sea. Others release small candle heated traditional hot air balloons into the night sky. As the night progresses a vast armada of little candles bobbing on the sea and lights ascending into the sky can be seen.
Pattaya’s annual Gay Festival is held in late November featuring dinners and street parties amongst other events. It all culminates with a large float parade on December 1, which is World Aids Day. It is one of the largest gay festivals in Thailand and raises money for AIDS related charitable causes.
Pattaya like many towns in Thailand has a thriving Thai-Chinese community, and the Chinese New Year, which falls in late January or early February, is well celebrated. Lion dances and a dragon parade feature prominently, and there are plenty of fireworks and firecrackers. The local Thai Chinese community also sponsor a Miss Pattaya Chinese contest, and there are often displays from visiting Chinese groups.
The King and Queen’s birthdays on December 5 and August 12 respectively are other major festivals in Pattaya that are highly celebrated in Pattaya. Large pictures of the King and Queen will be found in abundance on these days along with beautiful displays of lighting. Thai father and mother’s day are celebrated on these days too.
With its large European community Pattaya also celebrates Christmas with traditional meals served at many restaurants and religious services held at the churches of the many different denominations.
New Year’s Eve in Pattaya now features a countdown at the pier with a variety of local artists providing entertainment and culminating in a large firework display at midnight with the revelry usually going on into the early hours. Some even stay up to welcome the first sunrise of the new year.
