Teachers' Day (Thailand)
Next: January 16, 2027
Thank the teacher who shaped you.
The story
Where it comes from
Thailand's Teachers' Day, Wan Khru, began with teachers themselves, who wrote in newspapers asking for a day to recognise their work. Prime Minister Plaek Phibunsongkhram put the idea to the national teachers' council, the Khurusapha, in May 1956, and on 21 November 1956 the cabinet named 16 January Teachers' Day, with a day off for pupils and teachers. The date is the day the Teachers Act was published in the Royal Gazette in 1945. The first Teachers' Day was held on 16 January 1957, at the National Stadium in Bangkok.
How it's celebrated
The day was planned with merit-making for monks in the morning and, in the afternoon, a ceremony to honour the teachers of the past, at which teachers renew a three-part pledge: to live up to the name of teacher, to raise their pupils to be good citizens and to serve society. Schools close for the day, and each year a short motto for teachers is chosen. It is a fine day to thank a teacher who shaped you.
Did you know
- Since 1996 the orchid has been the official flower of Teachers' Day, chosen because a poem by the educator M.L. Pin Malakul likened its nature to the work and life of a teacher.
- Thailand also keeps a separate wai khru ceremony near the start of the school year, when pupils offer teachers trays of flowers.
- Every Teachers' Day leaves a keepsake for later generations: a book of teachers' lives, a commemorative book or a permanent building.
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