Sakura Festival
The Sakura Festival is held from late December to early January. When optimal cool climate weather prevails, the Thai variety of cherry blossoms in spectacular fashion. Known locally as “Nang Phaya Sue-Khrong” meaning tigress flowers. The pink Sakura blossoming extend through Doi Mae Salong for about 4 kms.
It festival features exhibitions and tastings of the various Oolong teas from around the region, beauty contests and performances by the local hill tribes.
Moon Festival
The Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Festival, or in Chinese, Zhongqiu Jie, is a popular harvest festival celebrated by Chinese people, dating back over 3,000 years to moon worship in China’s Shang Dynasty. It was first called Zhongqiu Jie – literally “Mid-Autumn Festival” in the Zhou Dynasty. In Malaysia and Singapore, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or Mooncake Festival.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is held on the 15th day of the eighth month in the Chinese calendar, which is usually around mid or late September in the Gregorian calendar. It is a date that parallels the autumn and spring Equinoxes of the solar calendar, when the moon is supposedly at its fullest and roundest. The traditional food of this festival is the mooncake, of which there are many different varieties.
The Mid-Autumn Festival is one of the two most important holidays in the Chinese calendar, the other being the Chinese New Year, and is a legal holiday in several countries. Farmers celebrate the end of the summer harvesting season on this date. Traditionally, on this day, Chinese family members and friends will gather to admire the bright mid-autumn harvest moon, and eat moon cakes and pomeloes together. Accompanying the celebration, there are additional cultural or regional customs, such as:
- Eating moon cakes outside under the moon
- Putting pomelo rinds on one’s head
- Carrying brightly lit lanterns, lighting lanterns on towers, floating sky lanterns
- Burning incense in reverence to deities including Chang’e
- Planting Mid-Autumn trees
- Collecting dandelion leaves and distributing them evenly among family members
- Fire Dragon Dances
- Shops selling mooncakes, before the festival, often display pictures of Chang’e floating to the moon.
November 1 – 30, 2008
TRIBAL CULTURE FESTIVAL
THE BLOOMING OF GIANT MEXICAN SUNFLOWERS AT BAN HUA MAE KHAM
Ban Hua Mae Kham, Mae Salong Nai, Mae Fah Luang District. As the cool season sets in, golden-yellow Giant Mexican Sunflowers (Tithonia Diversifolia) in full bloom transform the meadows and valleys into a beautiful tapestry that blankets the hilly landscape. It’s a breathtaking spectacle. Enjoy a variety of tribal culture shows and watch a tribal sports competition. End the day with a delicious Northern-style Khan Toke set dinner.
Contact information: Mae Salong Nai Sub-District Administrative Organisation
Tel: +66 (0) 5373 0322, (0) 5373 0360
20 DECEMBER 2009- 5 JANUARY 2010
AKHA HILLTRIBES NEW YEAR,
celebrated with dance, ceremonies and food in Chiang Rai, Chiang Saen, Mae Suai and Mae Fa Luang.
15 JANUARY 2010 CHINESE NEW YEAR
The beginning of the Chinese lunar year is celebrated by all Chinese and in the Chinatowns of every city throughout Thailand. Some businesses close for the day, but it is not a national holiday.
DETAILED EVENTS INFO AVAILABLE FROM
- www.chiangraitouristinformation.com
- www.tatnews.org/events
