While the country is in a renewed state of semi-lockdown due to a supposed reemergence of Covid cases that most of the country kind of doubts the authenticity of and feels as though it is a political ploy to suppress the free speech of the people protesting the government, I was among the many other people who felt that all New Year's Eve celebrations would be cancelled because of the new edict or whatever it is called from the Prime Minister forbidding gatherings.
I haven't been here terribly long but the Thais celebrate New Year's Day as much as the rest of the world if not moreso as it appears to be more important by far than Christmas, which is only celebrated by a few people, most of whom are foreigners.
I was not in Bangkok when this happened but it made the news worldwide and perhaps this can be a little ray of joy for this country that is suffering pretty badly just like everyone else.
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Up in Chiang Mai we had some fireworks as well and there was also a great many establishments not adhering to the banning of public gatherings. I think that the government has kind of lost the faith of the people in regards to how Covid is handled and for the most part the police haven't even been trying to stop people from getting together.
The fireworks here were considerably fewer than 2020's celebration but I think I speak for a lot of the people living here when I say that I was surprised they happened at all. I was in a bar at the stroke of midnight and ran outside as surprised as anyone else to see the sky lit up with fireworks even though it was only for about a minute. I have no idea if these were arranged by the government or a private business but they were definitely coordinated. It was nice to see.
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In years past there had also been a massive release of flying lanterns but the practice is now illegal and also frowned upon by the population as it has been revealed that these lanterns do eventually come back down to earth and some of them have started wildfires. Those that do not are still essentially long-distance littering and it was good to see that the population of Chiang Mai stopped this practice for the most part and not just because they were afraid of getting a fine from the police.
Yeah, it is lovely when you see it but when you start to look at the bigger picture and realize that these things all have to come back down to earth eventually, it is kind of endearing to realize that the people have abandoned this tradition due to being a bit more environmentally aware. "It's pretty though!" isn't enough anymore and I like that logic has prevailed for most people.
I also received news which was verified HERE that the massive display in Bangkok was done entirely with "eco-friendly" fireworks and while I do not know what that entails, it is yet another nice thing to see from this country.
The reason why I have this opinion is because a mere nearly 3 years ago when I moved here the country's attitude towards environmentalism was significantly different than it is now. Since 2017 the country has made great efforts to increase recycling, reduce the use of non-reusable plastic bags, and focus on education about the dangers of littering and pollution into the school systems. None of these things existed in any noticeable capacity when I first moved here. I suppose that is a different topic though.
The good news is that for millions of Thais and expats that live in the Kingdom, we weren't expecting there to be much of a celebration this year but we were surprised by how great it was.
Thailand has one of the lowest Covid death rates in the world and that is certainly something to celebrate.
It's not in English but you can watch the immense display in this 7 minute video if you want to
Did your area have fireworks? Or were you not allowed to have fun for the New Year?