Thailand is well-known for her festivals which take place all the year round. Most of these festivals are influenced by Buddhist and Brahminical religions, however, with the passage of time a number of them have been adopted in deference to the international practice.

Actually, the official New Year's Day of Thailand has undergone several changes. Once it used to fall at the end of November. Later, during the reign of King Rama V (1868-1910) it was moved to a date round about April and then New Year's Day was changed to April the first. The universal practice of celebrating the new year on January 1 was adopted of changes aimed at modernizing the country.

Obviously, in Thailand people celebrate New Year three times a year, namely; the Thai traditional New Year or Songkran, January 1 and the Chinese New Year. Out of these, Songkran is the most joyous occasion, which draw people from all walks of life to take part in a weeklong celebration. Meanwhile, the Chinese New Year is important especially for Thai citizen of Chinese origin. Though it is not a public holiday, most private organizations will close their business for several days so that the employers and their employees will be able to celebrate the auspicious occasion with their relatives at home or spend a long holiday in a place they like.