Christmas in Thailand

Suk san wan Christmas

With less than 1% of the population of Thailand professing Christianity, Christmas is, for most Thais, a secular holiday.

Christmas parties are held at hotels where people come to talk, drink, and exchange gifts with one another. Songs like Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snow Man are sung. At the shopping malls the stores are decorated with wreaths, ribbons, and ornaments, similar to the way they are in the United States.

Local Christian churches have special Christmas celebrations on Christmas Day. The churches are decorated with either large artificial Christmas trees (because large pine trees do not exist in Thailand) or with small pine trees decorated with ornaments.

Due to the small number of Christians in the population, Christmas is not considered an official holiday except by Christian schools and businesses.

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