Christmas in Thailand… Santa travels by motorbike and elephants give gifts

Christmas is a little different in Thailand. In some provinces, Santa Claus is known to travel by motorbike with gifts loaded on – Thai style – going from Rayong to northern provinces handing out gifts to children. In Central Thailand’s Ayutthaya, elephants hand out gifts to children at a local school. And in Bangkok’s Khlong Toey slum, another version of the nativity story is told where Mary didn’t make it to Bethlehem and gave birth to Jesus under a local railway bridge.

Elephant “Santas” give gifts to school children

Each year, elephants dress up in Santa Claus costumes to spread Christmas cheer to children at the Jirasat Wittaya school in Ayutthaya. The Ayutthaya Elephant Palace has been holding the holiday event at the school for nearly two decades. This year, in addition to the Santa costume, elephants wore face masks to promote health safety during the pandemic.

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