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Public Holidays and Bank Holidays for Thailand

Related and neighboring countries: Asia Cambodia Laos Malaysia Myanmar

The list of Thailand bank holidays, national holidays and public holidays for 2008, comes from the Q++ Worldwide Public Holidays Database, the professional source of international public holidays long trusted by the world's foremost diary publishers. The information on this page is provided for private, non-professional, use. Qualified professionals can license data for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and beyond. For details, please visit our licensing information page or

 
At the bottom of this page:   Recent News and Updates    Background Information    Footnotes    Disclaimer
 

Date in 2008

Holiday Name Observance*
Tue New Year's Day
* Thu Chinese New Year Othr+Lin
* Fri Chinese New Year Holiday Othr+Lin
* Sat Chinese New Year Holiday Othr+Lin
Thu Makha Bucha
Sun Chakri Day
Mon Chakri Day (day in lieu)
Sun Songkran (Thai New Year)
Mon Songkran Holiday
Tue Songkran Holiday
Wed Songkran Holiday
* Thu Labour Day Banks
Mon Coronation Day
* Fri Royal Ploughing Ceremony Bnk+Gov
Mon Visakha (Buddha Day)
* Tue Mid Year Bank Holiday Banks
* Thu Asalha Bucha Day Othr+Gov
Fri Khao Phansa (Buddhist Lent begins)
Tue Queen's Birthday
Thu Chulalongkorn Day
Fri King's Birthday
Wed Constitution Day
Wed New Year's Eve

 © 1989-2008 Alter Ego Services

Recent News and Updates

27 Jan 2008 (The Nation-Bangkok) Electoral Commission (EC) has announced that, contrary to recent practice, it would not ask the government to declare a public holiday on Monday, March 3, 2008, the day after the senatorial election day.  14 Nov 2007 (Bangkok Post) As we had forecast in our post of August 28, the Thai cabinet declared a one-off public holiday for Monday, December 24, 2007, the day after the Sunday general election, to encourage people to return to their home constituency to vote.  12 Oct 2007 (The Nation) Although the government of Thailand has not yet made any announcement to that effect, yet, government spokesman, Chaiya Yimwilai, told reporters that the question of whether December 24 should be declared a public holiday had been raised at this week's cabinet meeting.  28 Aug 2007 (The Nation) The date of Sunday, December 23, 2007, has been announced for the upcoming general elections, and it is possible that the next day, Monday, December 24, 2007, might be declared a public holiday in a manner analogous to the way August 20 was.  20 Aug 2007 (Mathaba) Following yesterday's approval by referendum of the new charter constitution, a general election now looks set to be held in December, most likely on december 16 or 23, according to both the Election Commission chairman and the Interim Prime Minister. It is therefore likely that a one-off public holiday could be declared on the following Monday (ie. either December 17, or December 24), as was done earlier this month for the day after the charter referendum.  More News Updates For up-to-the-minute news about public holidays trends and changes, visit our public holidays news and updates pages, or subscribe to one of our free email newsletters.


Background Information

Weekend Public Holidays: Public holidays falling on a Saturday or Sunday are observed on the Monday following.  Clubs and other places of indulgence are closed on Buddhist Holidays and Royal Holidays like the King/Queen's birthday.  The public holidays of Mahka Bucha, Visakha Bucha, Asanha Bucha, and Khao Phansa are based on the Thai lunar calendar .  For Bangkok Bank in the provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Satun, an extra holiday is given for Eid al Fitr (End of Ramadan) announced by the Sheikhul Islam Office, if the day does not coincide with other holidays or is on Saturday or Sunday.  Royal Ploughing Ceremony Day (usually during the 2nd week of May) is supposed to be a government holiday, however, no reliable source has been found to confirm how it may be predicted. This is an ancient Brahman ceremony, held under Royal patronage in Bangkok, which celebrates the beginning of the rice planting season. The day is selected by Brahmin Priests according to their astrological calendars.  For commercial banks in the provinces of Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala and Satun, an extra holiday is given for Eidilfitri Day (Ramadan Day) announced by the Sheikhul Islam Office if the day does not coincide with the above mentioned holidays or Saturday and Sunday.  Other Sources of Information For information not covered here, see the following specialized websites: Bank of Thailand (Thailand central bank), ASI Hot Spots (security-related world events: terrorist threats, political strife, strikes, criminal activity, aviation incidents and health outbreaks), CIA World Factbook (maps, demographic and economic statistics), Copp Clark (financial markets' trading hours, settlement holidays and currency non-clearing days), and the IFES Election Guide (information covering upcoming elections, referenda, electoral structures and past voter participation).


Footnotes
*

Observance : Any entry in the Observance column indicates that, in Thailand, the holiday may be regional or non-official or limited to certain religious and/or linguistic groups, or begin at a time other than midnight. Note that religious holidays are included only if they are national public holidays, or if the national labour code has specific holiday allowances for employees of specific religions. For more information, see our pages on the religious calendars of the world. Aft=Afternoon, Arm=Armenian, Bah=Bahai, Bnk=Banks and most financial institutions, Bud=Buddhist, Cat=Catholic, Chr=Christian, Cop=Coptic, Eve=Evening, Gov=Government services and civil servants, Hin=Hindu, Jew=Jewish, Lin=Linguistic or ethnic groups, Mor=Morning, Mun=Municipal, Mus=Muslim, Orth=Orthodox, Othr=Miscellaneous partial observances (usually described in the Additional Information section of this page), Prt=Protestant, Reg=Regional, Rel=Other Religion, Sch=Schools and universities, Sik=Sikh.

**

Religious Holidays : Public holidays in Thailand that are based on certain religious calendars may be subject to local variations due to differing interpretations between different religious authorities, or to seemingly arbitrary changes in the date a holiday is celebrated because it conflicts with another holiday that is based on another calendar, or because the day of the holiday is deemed inauspicious (bad luck). To find out more about these uncertainties, see the footnote below, if any, for each specific religion.

(10)

South-East Asian Holidays : The rules used to predict South-East Asian public holidays in Thailand are based on the models described in the book "The Calendrical Systems of Mainland South-East Asia", by J.C. Eade, published as part of the "Handbuch der Orientalistik" series. Our sincere thanks to Burghart Hoffrichter for his help in making sense of these calendrical systems.


Disclaimer
In many parts of the world, holidays are subject to arbitrary, last minute, changes by local authorities. While every effort has been made to present an accurate list of 2008 bank holidays, legal holidays and public holidays for Thailand, we cannot accept any responsibility for any error or omission in the data presented above. You are therefore advised to verify the above dates with the embassy or consulate of Thailand, before planning any trip to Thailand. For last-minute updates to worldwide public holidays, visit our blog or subscribe to our free email newsletters.



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