Nationwide Holiday Marks Start of Three-Month Buddhist Lent
Khao Phansa fell on Thursday, July 30, 2026, one day after Asanha Bucha, marking the start of Vassa, the three-month Buddhist Lent during which Thailand's monks remain within temple grounds for intensive meditation and study through the rainy season. It is a government public holiday, though banks and most private businesses operate as usual. The one nationwide restriction is on alcohol: retail sales are banned for two consecutive days, from midnight on July 29 through 11.59pm on July 30, covering convenience stores, supermarkets and standalone bars, though licensed hotels and international airport venues remain exempt.
At Bangkok's major temples, worshippers marked the day with offerings and candlelit rites. Wat Pho invited the public to a flower alms-giving ceremony and homage to Buddha images across its four subsidiary halls at 12.30pm, while Wat Arun held a ceremony presenting rainy-season robes and food offerings to 142 monks and novices from noon. Wat Suthat and Wat Benchamabophit ran multi-day merit-making programmes from July 29 through 31, including candle casting, sanghadana offerings and robe presentations, and Wat Pathumwanaram held morning almsgiving followed by an evening candlelit procession around its main hall.
Ubon Ratchathani's 125th Candle Festival Reaches Its Main Parade
In Thailand's northeast, the country's largest Buddhist Lent celebration, the Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival, held its official opening ceremony and grand parade on the morning of July 30, with elaborately carved wax sculptures paraded through Thung Si Mueang Park in the city centre from 8.29am. This year's event marks its 125th anniversary, and the Tourism Authority of Thailand added a light-and-sound show, a 3D landmark sculpture of the mascot "Nong Mamuang" in Thai dress, and a glow-in-the-dark scented candle float making its debut this year, as officials push to raise the local tradition into a signature national tourism event.
The festival, running July 25-31 with processions concentrated on July 28-30, features 46 competition candle floats plus one showcase float across three categories - antique-style candles, stamped candles and fully carved sculptures - accompanied by more than 37 dance processions from temples, communities and schools across the province. Five free public viewing points line the parade route with more than 5,000 seats available. Beyond Ubon, similar candle-offering processions took place this week in Nakhon Ratchasima and Saraburi, part of a nationwide wave of temple fairs and candle traditions marking the start of Buddhist Lent.