Dec 5th is father's day in the Kingdom of Thailand and this is because it is the birthday of HRH King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
As some of your may recall, this is not the current King of Thailand but rather the birthday of the previous King who tragically died on 13 October 2016 at the age of 88. At that time he was the longest-running monarch in the world.
The holiday is still recognized because he was an exceptionally revered person in this country and likely always will be. Upon his passing a period of mourning was declared and it lasted more than a year. During this time all government employees were required to wear black to work every day although I am certain, based on how admired this man was, that no one was forced to do this - they did so gladly.
On Father's Day in Thailand many of the activites are similar to the Father's Day that exists in the western world. It is a day not only to pay respects to the "Father of the Kingdom" but also to pay respects to your own biological father. This normally consists of gifts made in school and a nice family dinner.
Where I am staying right now the owners of this building are spending the entire day having good food and general merriment and of course a large picture of Bhumibol Adulyadej is on the wall nearby complete with offerings under the images. I did not take a picture of this because I am not sure of the protocol and one of the quickest ways to get on the bad side of a Thai person is to do something disrespectful to the Royals - even if it is unintentional.
one of my favorite shots of the previous King
I quite like this public holiday even though it means that a lot of the stuff I need to use are closed. Everyone is a just a little bit friendlier on Dec 5 and even though they don't know me, i have been invited multiple times to have food with the family downstairs. It gives me a good chance to practice my Thai and their children to practice English. Also the food is out of this world but I could do without the sitting on the floor because I find that impossible to do comfortably. Maybe it is because I am one of the least flexible people on the planet.
So maybe surprise your own father with a Happy Father's Day wish today and impress him with something that perhaps he, and you didn't know before reading this blog entry.