Festivals in Cha-Am - Songkran, Loy Krathong and the Buddhist Year

Two Thai festivals shape the year in Cha-Am: Songkran in mid-April and Loy Krathong at the November full moon. Both are older and quieter than their tourist reputation suggests, and both are still centred on merit-making at the temple, respect for elders, and gratitude to the water. The Buddhist observances between them fill in the rest of the calendar.

Songkran (13-15 April) - cleansing and respect for elders

Songkran (สงกรานต์) is the Thai solar new year and, more importantly, a family occasion. It begins at the temple: people bring food to the monks in the morning, take part in the bathing of Buddha images, and pour scented water gently over the hands of parents and grandparents. The gesture is rot nam dam hua - a request for blessing and a mark of respect. The community-wide water splashing on the streets is a later, joyful expansion of the same idea: water as a symbol of cleansing at the turn of the year, at a time when Phetchaburi Province is at its hottest.

In Cha-Am the beach road (Ruamchit Road) becomes the informal centre from around midday on 13 April. Families and neighbours take turns with buckets and hoses; foreign residents are welcomed as long as they play in the same spirit. Wat Neranchararam holds merit-making rounds through the morning, and it is worth going there first before the road becomes wet.

Loy Krathong (full moon, 12th lunar month - usually November)

Loy Krathong (ลอยกระทง) falls on the full moon of the twelfth month of the Thai lunar calendar, which in most years lands in November. The gesture is simple: a small floating raft (krathong) made of banana trunk, banana leaf, flowers, a candle and three sticks of incense is set on the water at dusk. The offering is directed to Phra Mae Khongkha (พระแม่คงคา), the mother goddess of rivers and waters, in gratitude for a year of using her water and in apology for having polluted it.

Cha-Am families float krathong at the beach itself, along the estuary at the northern end of town, and at the small canal that runs behind Ruamchit Road. Larger public floating takes place at Wat Neranchararam and, further afield, on the Phetchaburi River in the provincial capital. Sky lanterns are far less common here than in Chiang Mai and are discouraged near the beach because of aviation traffic to Hua Hin Airport.

Buddhist observance days that shape the year

Three lunar-calendar days are national holidays and are marked at Cha-Am temples with a candlelit circumambulation (wian tian) - three times clockwise around the ordination hall - in the early evening:

• Makha Bucha (full moon of the third lunar month, February or March) - commemorates the spontaneous gathering of 1,250 disciples of the Buddha.
• Visakha Bucha (full moon of the sixth lunar month, May or June) - marks the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha.
• Asalha Bucha (full moon of the eighth lunar month, July) followed the next day by Khao Phansa, the start of the three-month Buddhist Lent.

Alcohol sales are prohibited on all four days by national law.

Local and civic dates

Cha-Am District holds a modest Cha-Am Seafood Festival in the cool season (usually late January or February), based at the beach; a Chinese-Thai Lunar New Year observance at the local shrine in late January or February; and community events tied to the royal King Vajiravudh Memorial Day on 25 November, given the town's link to Mrigadayavan Palace - see the history article.

Joining in as a foreign resident

None of these observances require formal invitation. Dress modestly at the temple, remove your shoes before entering any building, and never place a krathong containing plastic or foam - only banana leaf and biodegradable material is welcome. For a broader picture of expat life around the calendar, see our living in Cha-Am guide and the temples article.