Thailand Christmas Traditions

Christmas is a festival of festive lights and great music. The festival brings, hope, happiness and joy in every person's life. Every individual gets to spend quality time with his or her family and friends. People come together and welcome the festival with parties, feasts and family reunions. Families get busy in cleaning homes and decorating it with holy and mistletoe twigs and wreaths. Buying a Christmas tree and decorating it with ornaments, tinsel and paper flowers is an activity enjoyed by many families. Christmas has a universal appeal. Every nation has its own set of Christmas traditions. Thailand Christmas traditions are different due to the difference in culture.

Christmas in Thailand is an occasion of great festive fervor for the Christians living here. Thailand is basically a Buddhist nation. The Christians are a minority in this country. Slowly, Christmas is entering in the lives of Thai people. The Thai Christians attend church service during Christmas. They have traditional Christmas dinner with a tinge of Thai cuisine. The people organize parties and feasts and visit each other during Christmas. Gifts are given to each other. The homes are decorated with evergreen leaves. Christmas tree is brought home and is decorated. The homes, court yard, streets, etc. is decorated with lights.

Christmas is becoming part of Thailand culture. With commercialization and influence of western ideas, decoration of Christmas, Christmas tree, gifts are entering into Thailand market. The shopping malls and shops in Thailand are full of Christmas goodies. Through advertising and marketing strategies, the common Thai man is attracted towards the festival of Christmas and he or she joins the celebration. The children enjoy gifts in form of toys, sweets and candies given by Jesus who visits on Christmas Eve. Jesus is seen on streets, shopping malls, schools and so on. Christmas is not a public holiday in Thailand.

Christmas celebration in Thailand is limited to big cities and tourist places. Yet, it has not found its way into the country side of Thailand. Christmas tree adores the shopping malls with beautiful decorations in cities and towns. The streets in big cities are illuminated with lights. Carols and western Christmas music is heard in many cities. Many Thai people, who are not Christians, celebrate the festive time by meeting friends, enjoying god food and exchanging gift. Christmas is nice time for reunion with friends and family. Everyone enjoys the time spend together. The atmosphere is lively and festive.