English What Now? is an ongoing series based around the humorous, head-scratching, or just plain amusing English found around Thailand observed and written by Teresa Derr.
I was chatting with my family on Father’s Day in June, and I was sharing about how Father’s Day in Thailand is celebrated in December because that’s when the King’s Father’s birthday is. My family was understanding in a vaguely confused way and asked if that meant Father’s Day got mixed up with Christmas. They joked about celebrating Christmas in July to make it closer to America’s Father’s Day. I responded that in my experience, Christmas in Thailand is a set of decorations that are up year round – so it’s always Christmas time here!
So in honor of Christmas in July (and all the time), I thought I’d take a minute to share some of my favorite Christmas themes I’ve seen in Thailand so far.
This is a picture from inside Pang Pang Cafe, which was the beloved hang-out spot during pre-service training for both groups 134 and 135. I might be wrong, but I believe these Christmas decorations have been up since before we Americans invaded Khun Oh’s space and were made so very welcome. Truly, Khun Oh demonstrated the spirit of generosity that is at the heart of Christmas, so I feel these decorations are well-suited!
This is a picture from one of the larger schools in my Amphoe, where district-wide sports and academic tournaments are held. I actually first saw it on Christmas Day, when I was there for the Sports Festival, so it holds a special place in my heart. I have no idea who painted it, or why they chose the Grinch out of all the various Christmas-related stories, but I love it!
Ah yes, the struggle of trying to find a word that starts with X for the alphabet posters. This is one example I hadn’t seen before because I don’t think a lot of Thai people know Christmas can be shortened into X-Mas (for which I’m grateful, because I wouldn’t be able to explain why when they’d inevitably ask). But it will be on this poster for all who look at it year round and probably falsely associate X-Mas with the Christmas tree. Oh well!
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I hope I have brought you a little bit of Christmas spirit to last you the rest of the year. If you ever need another dose, just look around and try to spot some fun Christmas decorations your Thai friends have put up permanently because they appreciate the Christmas aesthetic! And if you see some unique ones, send them to me to possibly be featured in another article!
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