Did you know that in Thailand there’s a colour for every day of the week? Many people are curious about the wearing of certain colours in Thailand. Sometimes you may see a mass of people wearing yellow, sometimes a riot of pink and sometimes sky blue. This tradition is not as popular with young Thais, but many more traditional Thais still know the colours and when to wear them. The day of the week a person was born is very significant in Thai culture, historically, and each day has a lucky colour. Days are marked by colours and are said to have hidden and secretive meanings. These colours still influences the daily lives of people, not because of beliefs alone, but because many Thais feel that colour influences their perceptions and feelings. The draping of coloured ribbons and lengths of gauzy fabrics around sacred trees, on special “lucky” sites, on the prows of boats, on spirit houses, chedis and anything else which may influence the gods, is another aspect of this adherence to the special colours. Usually, a garland of yellow, pink, blue and green will suffice, as these are the most important colours, and the ones that connect both the royal family and the gods of the planets. Here’s what the colours represent from the historical and religious view:
Sunday = Red
According to historical record, there is mystic belief that Phra Isuan, a high God in the Hindu faith since the beginning of the universe, captured six lions and ground them into powder. He then wrapped the powder with red cloth and sprinkled Nam Amarit or holy water on to the powder and thus created the Sun. Monday = Yellow Yellow is believed to be lucky for all occasions. According to Hindu mythology, Phra Isuan had captured 14 angles and used his infinite powers to turn them into powder. He then wrapped the powder in a yellow cloth and sprinkled holy water upon the powder creating the Moon. His Majesty The King of Thailand was born on a Monday, and therefore the King’s flag contains yellow. However there are some who say that the Kings lucky colour actually is pink, not yellow. The King was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and while his date of birth in the US fell on a Monday, it was actually already Tuesday in Thailand. HRH Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn was born on July 28th 1952 and also has yellow as his birthday colour. Tuesday = Pink Phra Isuan caught eight buffalo and used his magical powers to turn them into powder, which he wrapped with soft reddish cloth and sprinkled with holy water, thus creating the Planet of Saturn. King Bhumibol spent three weeks in hospital last month having treatment for heart problems and other ailments. Thai commentators said pink first became an important colour for him earlier this year, when royal astrologers determined it was a good colour for his health. On that recommendation, a pink royal crest was designed for his 80th birthday.
Wednesday = Green
Green is worn on Wednesday because it is said that Phra Isuan rounded up 17 mystic elephants and turned them into powder which he wrapped with a green leaf. After sprinkling holy water he created the planet of Pluto.
Thursday = Orange
19 hermits were powdered by Phra Isuan and wrapped in a reddish orange cloth, thus creating the Planet of Mars
Friday = Blue
On this day, Phra Isuan used his powers to turn 21 bullocks into powder, wrapped them with a blue cloth and sprinkled holy water to create the planet Venus. The Queen’s flag that is blue, as she was born on Friday, and again Thais often wear blue on Friday.
Saturday = Purple
On Saturday Phra Isuan caught 10 tigers sprinkled powder on them, wrapped them in a purple cloth and created the planet Saturn. The ‘Red Shirts’ & ‘Yellow Shirts’ – An Added Political Dimension With the colours yellow and red having political significance in Thailand, many Thai people have taken the decision not to wear either colour. Although some people still wear yellow on Monday in honour of the king, there are far less than there were before the colour became associated with the PAD movement. Instead, many Thais have taken to wearing pink in honour of His Majesty. This brings us to an important flag, the national flag of Thailand. The colours of this flag represent the three most important parts of Thai culture, the nation (red), religion (white) and royalty (blue). Red represents the blood of life for the land and it’s people, white represents purity and is the colour for Theravada Buddhism, the main religion in Thailand, and blue is the national colour of Thailand. You may wonder why royalty is represented by blue and not yellow, the answer is simple. The middle colour used to be red but in 1917 it was changed to dark blue, similar in tone with indigo which was the auspicious colour for the reigning of King Vajiravudh (Rama VI) who was born on Saturday, and the flag has remained the same ever since. On you journey through Thailand you will quickly notice that Buddhist monks wear orange robes, do you think that they were all born on Thursday? Well of course this is not true. Saffron is a better way to describe the colour of the robes and centuries ago the colour was simply dictated by the natural colour produced from the roots or trees used in the making of the dye. It is now traditional for Theravada Buddhist monks to wear saffron coloured robes that symbolise simplicity and detachment of materialism and with modern dyes the colour is now a more vivid orange. So when in Thailand, wear your colours carefully. From a business perspective, it’s appreciated when doing business in Thailand that you appreciate and recognize this culture. If you have business meetings on a Monday, consider wearing some yellow.