No dragon dances, loud drum rolls or any busy booths will crowd Yaowarat Road with vestiges of Chinese culture next week after Bangkok Gov. Aswin Kwanmuang announced that no Lunar Festival will be held.
After Thailand declared Chinese New Year an official holiday for the first time, it won’t be celebrated in the capital due to COVID-19 concerns – the second New Year’s festivities to be set aside in as many months, following City Hall’s cancelation of 2021 countdown events due to the pandemic second wave.
This time, Aswin said it is being canceled out of an abundance of caution as the pandemic shows no sign of disappearing anytime soon. People can still gather privately to celebrate, and fire teams will be on alert at 84 locations around Bangkok in case burning joss papers or firecrackers get out of hand, as they tend to do.
Fortunately Thailand is blessed…
