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Religious

Makha Buchaวันมาฆบูชา

The first of the year's dry days — a public holiday, and no alcohol sold anywhere outside a hotel

Next
21 February 2027
21 February 2027
Where
Nationwide
Public holiday
Yes
Alcohol sales
Banned

In short

Makha Bucha marks the spontaneous gathering of 1,250 enlightened monks before the Buddha, and his delivery of the Ovada Patimokkha — the summary of the teaching. Observance is quiet: merit-making in the morning, and a candlelit circumambulation of the temple three times at dusk. For everyone else the practical fact is that it is a public holiday with a nationwide ban on alcohol sales.

Four monks in orange robes standing with their alms bowls on a bamboo raft being poled along the green Phachi river, a woman in a red hill-tribe tunic carrying a woven back-basket beside them, with dense forest rising from the bank behind and their reflections stretching across the water.
Paul-shy / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Go if

  • The wian tian candlelit procession at dusk — Wat Phra Dhammakaya, Wat Benchamabophit and any neighbourhood temple
  • A genuinely quiet day in Bangkok, with the bars shut and the traffic light
  • Watching a side of Thailand that the beach resorts never show you

Be aware

  • Banks, government offices and immigration are closed
  • Alcohol sales are banned nationwide for the full 24 hours. Convenience stores physically curtain off the fridges
  • Some bars and clubs close entirely rather than serve food only
  • Temples are busy from before dawn; dress covering shoulders and knees

Dates

The full moon of the third month in the Thai lunar calendar, normally February and occasionally March. If it falls at a weekend, the following Monday is taken in lieu.

  • 3 March 2026Tuesday. Late, because 2026 is a leap-month year in the Thai calendar.
  • 21 February 2027Sunday, with Monday 22 February observed in lieu.

Sources

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