By Megan Jungwi

Mother’s Day in Thailand is celebrated every year on August 12 to coincide with the birthday of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit. The royal family in Thailand is treated with great respect, but the King and Queen are genuinely loved by the Thai people. The Queen, born in 1932, is known for her charitable work among the rural poor and is considered a mother to all Thai people.

In Thailand Mother’s Day is a national holiday where government buildings and many businesses will close for the day. Buildings such as schools, temples, shops, and homes are decorated with large displays of the Queen and portraits of the Queen are adorned with flowers. In the capital, Bangkok, the area around the Grand Palace is decorated with beautiful colored lights.

Thailand is a Buddhist country and many people will go to temple on this day to give food to the monks and to make merit. In civil administrations, employees will put on their most beautiful clothes and gather to listen to speeches and Buddhist sermons. At some schools mothers are invited to listen to their children wish them a “Sook san wan mae” and give little speeches of love and ‘wai’ at her feet. A ‘wai’ is a gesture of greeting and respect where the hands are clasped together and the head is bowed.

On Mother’s Day many people will also wear light blue shirts as blue is considered the Queen’s color. Each day of the week is assigned a color, the Queen was born on a Friday which is blue.

Mother’s Day was originally introduced to Thailand in 1950 by Premier General P. Pibulasongkram. At that time it was celebrated on April 15th. However, in 1976 the date was changed to coincide with Queen Sirikit’s birthday. It is difficult to say what will happen to Mother’s Day in the future. Even if Queen Sirikit should pass on she is greatly respected and it is doubtful as to whether the date would change again. Her husband King Bhumibol is the world’s longest reigning monarch having been on the throne since 1946. The couple is greatly revered and their respective days are celebrated by all Thais.