Around October time, the Chak Phra Festival is held in Thailand which celebrates a Buddhist holiday and signals the end of the three month rains retreat for monks. As with any Thai festival food plays an important part. Enjoy our photographs from the southern island of Koh Pha-Ngan.

Chinese Moon Cakes are made in celebration of the Chinese mid-autumn festival of the autumnal equinox where the moon is said to be its fullest and roundest and represents a time of plenty. Find out more about moon cakes and the lunar goddess Chang’e also known as the Lady in the Moon.

Makha Bukha Day is an important Buddhist holiday in Thailand celebrated on the full moon of the third lunar month. Many Thai people will visit the temple on this day to take part in candle lit ceremony. We visit the famous Wat Chedi Luang temple in Chiang Mai for the event where hundreds of people form a procession round the temple led by dozens of monks.

A Valentine’s Day Dinner is as much about the atmosphere as it is the food. You can use traditional Thai fruit carving to enhance the romantic appeal of your meal with a beautiful edible rose carving. For this special day we have gone Western with a delicious recipe of roasted beet, goat cheese, and candied walnut salad in a video by Nita Gill professional fruit carving instructor.

Thailand’s second New Year celebration, the Chinese Lunar New Year, takes place for three days in February. Thais offer food and gifts to their ancestors and to the Gods, and gather with their loved ones over huge feasts. Chinese traditions like the lion dance have a place in Thai cities, too.

Khuan Ban Mai (ขึ้นบ้านใหม่), the blessing of a new house, is regarded by Thai people as a very auspicious event. It celebrates the completion of a new home by bringing together friends and family and performing a Buddhist rite to encourage good fortune and prosperity for the new dwelling and its inhabitants. Before the ceremony […]