Yee Peng —also Yi Peng — is a northern Thai festival that is celebrated on the full moon of the twelfth month of the Thai lunar calendar — for the most part in November. This year, it falls on November 5 to 6. The ‘Celebration of Lights’ was adapted from Brahmin starting points and has strong ties to the ancient Lanna Kingdom. Yee Peng was once celebrated as a separate event to mark the end of the storm season and the beginning of the cool season; however, it is now celebrated in conjunction with Loy Krathong. Although other towns and cities in northern Thailand celebrate Yee Peng, Chiang Mai is the best place to experience this truly mysterious celebration.
Gunpowder Day
Gunpowder Day, also known as Guy Fawkes Night, is observed on November 5 each year to commemorate the failure of the Gunpowder plot of 1605. Observed primarily in the United Kingdom through bonfires and fireworks, the event finds its roots in the country’s long history of religious turmoil between the Catholic and Protestant forms of Christianity. What transpired in 1605 was a plot by several conspirators to assassinate King James I during his visit to the British Parliament due to the persecution faced by Catholics in the country. The plan, however, failed — thus etching November 5 as a day to celebrate the survival of the King.
National Kangaroo Awareness Day
They hop, kick, rear their pups in small pouches, and make us all go ‘awww’ every time — which is why National Kangaroo Awareness Day is observed every year on October 24. On this day, awareness about this marsupial’s plight, which is hunted and murdered in disturbingly huge numbers across Australia, and its offspring are created. People are encouraged to honor this beautiful creature by protecting and saving as many kangaroos and their young as possible.