Cover
story: 10 Jan
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Vol. 24 No. 19 |
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The
30 Important Days of Thailand (Part I) |
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By
Rachawadi |
This article is provided by the Public
Relations Group of the Office of the National Culture
Commission, the Ministry of Culture. It is written mainly
to benefit the young Thais who may lack knowledge about
the significance of the many public holidays and commemoration
days of their country. As the information contained
in it may be interested and valuable to foreign tourists,
we have it translated into English to be published in
Thaiways in two consecutive issues (Vol.24 No.19 which
will deal with important days concerning monarchs of
Thailand and religion and Vol.24 No.20 which will deal
with important days of the nation and those related
to traditions). The complete version of this story can
be obtained from this website on 25 January 2008.
Among the 365 days in a year, 30 are considered important
to Thailand because of their relations with the nation,
the religion, the monarch or the traditions. Of this
number, 16 have been declared public holidays, including
Magha Puja Day, Chakri Day and Songkran Day.
In order to commemorate the event, ceremonies or other
activities are held by the government, social groups
or public organs concerned on each important day, thus
to help the public to remember the past important event
with pride or to encourage them to follow the fine examples
in behaviour that have been handed down from generation
to generation.
Elephant-Back Duel Day
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Important Days Concerning
Monarchs of Thailand
1. Elephant-Back Duel Day. It falls
on the 18th of January. It was on this day in 1592 A.D.
that King Naresuan the Great engaged the Deputy King
of Burma in an elephant-back duel which ended in the
defeat and slaying of the latter. In ancient times in
this part of the world, elephants were used in battle
instead of horses. When the commanders of the two armies
fought in a duel on elephant-back, it was a decisive
battle of the top level. In such a fight, not only the
victor gained the supreme honour, even the vanquished
was esteemed a true warrior.
2. National Artist Day. Falling on the 24th
of February, it is the day on which a list of master
artists is announced as "National Artists"
of the Year. The date corresponds to the birthday of
King Rama II who possessed great skills in every branch
of the fine arts and was honoured with the title of
"Founding Artist of Rattanakosin".
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King Rama ll honoured
with the title
of "Founding Artist of Rattanakosin"
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3. King Nang Klao Day. Falling on the 31st
of March, it is the birthday anniversary of King Rama
III who is remembered for his enlightened rule which
greatly benefited the nation in religion, education
and many other aspects.
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King
Rama I, the founder of the Chakri Dynasty
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4. *Chakri Day. Occurring on the 6th of April,
the day means the anniversary of the founding of the
Chakri Dynasty by King Rama I. During his lifetime,
the King went to war to defend the independence of the
nation on 11 occasions. After he ascended the throne,
he still had to go on seven expeditions to defend his
motherland. The King was indeed a great soldier of peerless
valour and the ablest strategist.
Coronation Day
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5. *Coronation Day. Falling on the 5th of May,
it is the anniversary of the coronation of His Majesty
the reigning King Bhumibol Adulyadej. Following the
ceremony in 1950, he officially became the 9th King
of the Chakri House. In his Oath of Accession to the
Throne, the King pledged to "reign with righteousness
for the benefit and happiness of the Siamese people."
(In fact the King had succeeded his elder brother Rama
VIII to the Throne when the late king passed away unexpectedly
on 9 June 1946. But no coronation was performed then
because the new King had to go abroad to continue his
studies and was not ready to carry out his kingly duties.)
6. National Science Day. Falling
on the 18th of August, this is the anniversary of
the total solar eclipse that had been accurately calculated
by King Rama IV, two years before. On that day in
the year 1868, the King went personally to Wako District
in Prachuap Khiri Khan Province to observe the natural
phenomenon.
National Youth Day
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7. National Youth Day. The 20th
of September is considered an auspicious day, being
the birthday of two Chakri kings, viz. King Rama V
and King Rama VIII.
An Equestrian Statue of King Chulalongkorn
where
Thai people come to lay wreaths to worship
the king on the Beloved Great King Day.
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8. *Beloved Great King Day. Falling
on the 23rd of October, this is the anniversary of
the death of King Rama V, a Great King most beloved
by the people of Thailand. During his long reign,
the King did many things to benefit his country and
people, such as the abolition of slavery, the improvement
of the administrative system, the development of technologies
for public utility and the promotion of friendly relations
with foreign countries, all of which laid a sound
basis for the national prosperity up to these days.
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King Rama VI, a
king of many talents |
9. Vajiravudh Day. Falling on the
25th of November, this is the anniversary of the death
of King Rama VI, a king of many talents who earned
the epithet of Somdej Phra Maha Dhira Raj Chao which
means the Learned King, because he was an erudite
scholar of the humanities, being the only king of
Thailand who has composed large quantities of literary
works of various forms. It was King Vajiravudh who
first ordered the Thais to adopt family names.
An illuminated arch to celebrate
the King's Birthday
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10. *The King's Birthday. Occurring
on the 5th of December, this day is also known as
National Father's Day and Thai National Day. For a
long period of 60 years the King has consistently
devoted his body, mind and intelligence in the performance
of his royal duties to the benefit and happiness of
his people, as can be seen from the development projects
royally initiated numbering several thousands. The
King's birthday in 2007 was a special occasion because
the King reached 80 years of age on that day.
11. *Constitution Day. The 10th of December
is marked as Constitution Day. It was on this day
in 1932 that King Rama VII bestowed the first Constitution
of the Kingdom of Siam, the permanent version, to
the Thai people. This was after the system of government
had been changed from that of absolute monarchy to
that of democracy with the King as head of state and
a constitution as its supreme law. Up to the year
2007, Thailand had adopted 17 constitutions.
12. King Taksin the Great Day. Falling on
the 28th of December, it is the anniversary of the
coronation of King Taksin the Great. He is another
Thai hero-king who has all along been held in esteem
and reverence by the Thai people, not only because
he was an able warrior who had regained the national
independence and achieved its solidarity, but also
because he was a leader of valour, determination,
and loyalty and was ready to sacrifice himself for
the nation -- a leader with hardly any equal.
The
Main Important Days
Concerning Religion
13. *Magha Puja Day. It falls on the full-moon
day of the third lunar month roughly corresponding
to February. It is the anniversary of the day when
the arahants who had been ordained by the Lord Buddha
personally numbering 1,250 gathered together without
previous appointment. The Buddha then delivered a
sermon on the disciplinary code to them. This day
is now considered Day of Love in Buddhism, because
the gathering was a special event called the Assembly
of Four Factors (i.e. all the disciples had been ordained
by the Buddha; they had all attained the Arahantship;
they gathered unappointed; they gathered on the day
when the moon covered the star Magha.) And on that
day the Buddha declared the principles and ideals
of Buddhism, of which the essence is to encourage
human beings to be bent on doing good, to refrain
from evil and to do no harm to one another. In other
words, the Buddha taught every one to have love that
is great, that is selfless, he taught us to love and
be merciful to our fellow inhabitants on earth with
monks serving as preachers of these teachings.
Activities seen on Visakha Puja
& Asalha Puja days
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14. *Visakha Puja Day. It normally
falls on the full-moon day of the sixth lunar month.
In the year with an additional 8th lunar month according
to the Thai lunar calendar, the day is postponed to
the full-moon day of the seventh month roughly corressponding
to May. This is the anniversary of the day of birth,
enlightenment and death of the Buddha. The very important
thing that accompanied the birth of the Buddha is
the Dharma to which the Buddha was later enlightened.
It became the basis of conducting one's life. The
Buddha thus may be likened to a Great Teacher who
taught and guided the human beings in general. And
Visakha Puja Day was acknowledged as an important
day of the world by the United Nations in a revolution
passed in 1999.
A mural painting of Wat Dusidaram depicting
the Buddha conquering the Mara's army
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15. *Asalha Puja Day. It falls on
the full-moon day of the 8th lunar month roughly corresponding
to July. It was the day on which the Buddha, the Dharma
and the Sangha -- the Triple Gem of Buddhism --became
complete for the first time in the world, the first
monk being Anna-Kondanna and the first sermon delivered
by the Buddha means that the Wheel of Law began to
roll from that day on.
A procession of huge candles and beeswax
to be delivered to Buddhist temples
for use in the Rains Retreat.
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16. *The First Day of the Rains Retreat. It
is the beginning of the 3-month period in which the
Buddhist monks are required to stay in their monasteries
without wandering elsewhere. The period begins on the
first day of the 8th waning moon (around July) and ends
on the 15th day of the 11th waxing moon. The practice
started in the time of the Buddha with a view to preventing
Buddhist monks from treading on the plants in the night,
thus causing damage to the crops of the villagers.
Later, this was considered a good opportunity for the
monks to get together to study the Dharma and for the
villagers to go to the monasteries to offer food, to
observe Buddhist precepts, to listen to sermons and
to chant sutras in order to increase their merits while
there were monks serving as their models. Another tradition
related to the day is to present bathing cloths to monks
and to hold processions of huge candles to be delivered
to Buddhist temples for use in the period.
17. The End of the Rains Retreat. It falls
on the 15th day of the 11th waxing moon roughly corresponding
to October. It is the day the Buddhist monks begin to
be free from the residential restriction that has been
imposed on them since the beginning of the Rains Retreat.
Now they can spend the night elsewhere. There is a tradition
relating to this day. It is called tak bat thevo. On
the morning after the end of the Rains Retreat, local
Buddhist devotees will line up to offer food and daily
necessities to monks in imitation of the Buddha himself
who descended from the Tavatimsa heaven to receive the
food offerings from his followers after staying there
with his mother for three months. And the month after
the end of the Rains Retreat is the kathin season, when
groups of lay Buddhists go to different temples to present
yellow robes and other offerings to monks. (To be continued
on the Vol.24 No.20 issue.)
*Public holidays
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