Hat Yai Events Calendar 2021
Events by Month
1st January 2021
New Year
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
2nd January 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
9th January 2021
Children's Day
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
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6th February 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
12th February 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
26th February 2021
Makha Bucha Day
The date varies from year to year because Buddhist holidays are based on the lunar month. This one falls on the full moon day of the third lunar month, which can be in late February or early March. On this day during the Buddha's lifetime, 1250 Buddhist monks went to pay homage at Veluwan Vihara. They went of their own initiative and none had prior knowledge. All Buddhist temples will celebrate this event. You can join in by lighting candles and incense, and walking around the temple.
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6th March 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
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1-4 April 2021
Hat Yai Motor Show
The inaugural event was held in 2012, and 2021 will see the 10th Hat Yai Motor Show. The location is in the big International Conference Centre behind the Prince of Songkla University. It's quite easy to find.
Expect the usual pickup trucks and family saloons that can be seen everywhere in Thailand. In addition to the cars, there will also be lots of pretty Thai girls on display in the Miss Hat Yai Motor Show 2021 beauty competition.
I attended the first event in 2012 and don't remember there being an entrance fee. I think that it is still free.
Call +66 (0)86 405 1191 for details.
3rd April 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
6th April 2021
Chakri Memorial Day
Public Holiday.
13th April 2021
The traditional New Year in Thailand, and now the world's biggest water fight. Living in Thailand, you either love it or hate it. You can act like a seven year-old all day and squirt water at strangers, or you can do what I do. If I can't manage to be out of the country for Songkran, I stock up with food and stay indoors all day. I'm sorry, but I don't like this festival at all and find a lot of the behaviour quite obnoxious.
At least it only lasts for one day in southern Thailand. If you have the misfortune to be in Chiang Mai during Songkran the juvenile antics go on for an entire week.
Since 1940 the New Year in Thailand has commenced from 1st January (like most of the rest of the world), but the start of the traditional New Year in April is still one of the biggest festivals (probably the biggest) in Thailand.
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1st May 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
3rd May 2021
Substitution For National Labour Day
Public Holiday.
4th May 2021
Coronation Day
Public Holiday.
10th May 2021
Royal Ploughing Ceremony Day
The whole nation of Thailand is transfixed today watching some oxen grazing in Bangkok to see what kind of food the animals eat. The cows' dietary choice will determine whether the forthcoming rice season will be good or bad.
The ceremony is held at Sanam Luang in Bangkok, but it is widely televised and transmitted by all of the Thai TV channels. Other Southeast Asian countries also observe this ceremony, which dates back hundreds of years.
26th May 2021
Visakha Bucha Day
This Buddhist holiday celebrates the birth of the Buddha, his death, and also his enlightenment. All three events occurred on the same day. It's another day when Thai temples see a lot of activity and if you haven't been before it's a good experience. Thais walk around the temple carrying three flowers, three candles and an incense stick as a reminder of the Triple Gems. The actual date varies each year because it falls on the 15th day of the waxing moon in the 6th lunar month.
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3rd June 2021
HM The Queen's birthday
Public holiday.
5th June 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
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3rd July 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
24th July 2021
Asarnha Bucha Day
Today is the 15th day of the waxing moon of the eighth lunar month. It was this day during the Buddha's lifetime that he delivered his first sermon to five disciples at the deer park in Benares, India.
Tomorrow is the start of the Buddhist Lent, or Rains Retreat, which lasts for three months. Traditionally, Thai males ordained as monks during this time. In addition to learning about Buddhism, keeping the men in temples also kept them from walking on and damaging crops. Nowadays, it is still traditional for Thai males to ordain as monks, but the ordination period is often less than a week.
As usual for these important days in the Buddhist calendar, there will be ceremonies at all temples involving processions with candles and incense sticks.
This holiday falls on a Saturday this year, therefore some businesses will be closed on Monday.
25th July 2021
Kao Punsaa Day
The start of the Rains Retreat or Buddhist Lent.
26th July 2021
Substitution For Asarnha Bucha Day
28th July 2021
H.M. The King's Birthday (Rama X)
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7th August 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
TBA
Agricultural Fair
This is a regular event at the Prince of Songkla University every August and it attracts tens of thousands of people from all over southern Thailand. It's actually very good and caters to a wide variety of people. Farmers can buy a new tractor, while members of the public can buy a new car, truck or motorbike. There are lots of plants, pets, and handicrafts on sale. Many of the handicrafts are from Chiang Mai and they are not available in Hat Yai at other times of the year.
To be completely honest, a lot of the fairs and festivals in Hat Yai aren't really worth going to, but this is an exception. I have been attending since 2004 and each year I like to visit the fair at least once.
12th August 2021
Mothers' Day
HM the Queen's birthday and also Mothers' Day in Thailand.
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4th September 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
TBA
Hat Yai Moon Festival
This is a fairly new event in Hat Yai. My 2021 calendar tells me that 21st September is Moon Festival date, but when I see posters nearer the time I will confirm the date.
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2nd October 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
4 - 13 October 2021
Although the Phuket vegetarian festival is much more famous, the equivalent festival in Hat Yai is a major event and it goes on for nine days. It is another festival based on lunar dates and therefore the actual date changes each year.
The venue is along Supasarnrangsan Road. Lots of regular restaurants close for the duration of the festival (or just serve vegetarian food) and lots of vegetarian stalls open on the street. You can watch devotees perform acts of ritualised mutilation by having their bodies pierced with various objects. There is a lot of blood and it isn't for the squeamish.
On another page about Festivals in Hat Yai I posted some photos from the festival and then ran into a problem with Google. Google regards the photos as being 'shocking'.
13th October 2021
King Bhumibol Adulyadej Memorial Day
Today Thais will observe the passing of their much beloved monarch King Rama IX in 2016.
21st October 2021
Awk Punsaa Day
The end of the Rains Retreat or Buddhist Lent.
23rd October 2021
Chulalongkorn Memorial Day
King Rama V was a very special king for the Thai people. He was born on 20 September 1853 and died on 23 October 1910. He is remembered every year on the anniversary of his death. In Hat Yai there is a large Rama V statue inside the municipal park and a lot of people attend early in the morning on 23 October. If you plan on going, get there before 9am.
25th October 2021
Substitute For Chulalongkorn Memorial Day
Public Holiday.
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6th November 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
19th November 2021
This festival falls on the full moon day of the 12th month, which is normally in November. Thais float (loy) their 'gratongs' on the nearest convenient body of water. Inside the gratongs they place a nail clipping, some of their own hair and a coin. Ask around to find out where you can participate. At PSU in the afternoon there is a parade with lots of pretty girls. In addition to floating gratongs, there are also beauty contests staged to find 'naang nopamaat' (a Thai legend). Loy Gratong is a far more civilised occasion than Songkran and normally very enjoyable.
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4th December 2021
Cancelled due to Covid 19.
5th December 2021
H.M. King Bhumibol's Birthday
Today commemorates King Rama IX's birthday and is also Father's Day in Thailand.
6th December 2021
Substitute For H.M. King Bhumibol's Birthday
Public Holiday.
10th December 2021
Constitution Day
Today commemorates the day in 1932 when Thailand became a Constitutional Monarchy. It is a national holiday.
25th December 2021
Christmas
Thailand is a Buddhist, and therefore atheist, country. However, Thais like receiving gifts and they like coloured fairy lights. The department stores are decorated with Christmas decorations in the run up to Christmas and Jingle Bells can be heard over the PA system while you are shopping.
31st December 2021
New Year's Eve
Thais make a big thing of New Year and there is a big countdown ceremony around Lee Gardens Plaza. You will also see and see a lot of fireworks.
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