Colors in Thailand…and why they matter
Do you ever contemplate in the morning what to wear for the day? This question is answered more easily in Thailand than other countries. Especially when it comes to color choice.
Colors in Thailand matter. At least for part of the Buddhist population. In Thai (and Khmer) tradition, each day of the week is assigned a specific color. This is the reason, you see many people wearing yellow on Mondays, pink on Tuesdays, and so on. The chart below lists the colors considered lucky and unlucky on specific days of the week.
| Day | Lucky Color | Unlucky Color |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | red | blue |
| Monday | yellow | red |
| Tuesday | pink | yellow and white |
| Wednesday (day) | green | pink |
| Wednesday (night) | grey | orange-red |
| Thursday | orange | purple |
| Friday | light blue | black and dark blue |
| Saturday | purple | green |
The specific color of each day depends on an astrological rule (influenced by Hindu mythology) and is based on the color of the God who protects the day.
| Day | Celestial Body | Hindu God * |
|---|---|---|
| Sunday | Sun | Surya |
| Monday | Moon | Chandra |
| Tuesday | Mars | Mangala |
| Wednesday (day) | Mercury | Budha |
| Wednesday (night) | – | Rahu |
| Thursday | Jupiter | Brihaspati |
| Friday | Venus | Shukra |
| Saturday | Saturn | Shani |
* Click on each Hindu God for more details
Dressing in the color of the day has somewhat lost its importance in modern Thailand. People still know all of these colors by heart and consider the color of the day they were born their lucky color.
None of these colors seem more important than yellow, which is the color of H.M. King Bhumibol, who was born on December 5th, which was a Monday.
As a teacher, try wearing yellow on Mondays, pink on Tuesdays, and light blue on Fridays. You will demonstrate your understanding of this particular aspect of Thai culture and therefore gain a certain level of respect from your Thai peers. Some schools even require all teachers to wear yellow during the first week of December to pay respect to the King.
19 Comments
Wow! I never knew there were countries that paid so much attention to colors. Interesting information. Will check back for future updates.
hi Claudio!
I am not an English teacher nor do I live in Thailand but a great site you have! This post is so interesting to me. I had no idea that colors had such meaning in Thailand. Some of those traditions are probably lost as you say but it must be something to see so many people dressed in the same color. Such sacred traditions
At the very beginning, I wondered if I missed a memo on dress-code. It was most notable on Mondays (yellow). Over time I learned the meaning behind so many people dressing in the same color on specific days of the week. It was one of those big AHA moments you get from time to time when embracing a different culture.
Always wanted to visit Thailand. I did not know that colors meant so much there. I have learned from your post that colors are linked to the day of the week and Gods. Thanks for sharing. Will remember this when I visit.
I hope you get to visit this amazing country one day, Tony. And when you do visit, wear yellow on a Monday…and you are guaranteed admiring glances from Thais. ;-)
This is great! I want to do this!
Too bad it’s lost its importance in Thailand.
Color uplifts and makes us feel good!
Great post.
Warmly, Heather
Thanks Heather. I believe there is so much we don’t know about colors – and their impact on our moods. Glad you liked the post.
I never knew! Thanks for enlightening me. I am definitely going to try this out and pass it on to my sister, who is a teacher.
Pink is also the lucky color of the King in Thailand as when he recovered his astronomer advised him to wear it often for his good luck and health.
Indeed, the King of Thailand is often seen wearing pink. I wasn’t aware that it is based on advice by his astronomer. Thanks for the additional information.
[…] green on Saturday in Thailand is often seen as unlucky. Why didn’t I remember that? I was always good at wearing yellow on […]
Thank you for this. I have a friend who gave birth to her first child on Thursday evening. I knew that Thailand had a color-related thing, so I was able to tie our gift with an orange satin ribbon. Our Thai “new mommy” will certainly get it. Thanks again.
That’s really cool. And congrats to the new parents!
I’m Thai, Thank you so much for sharing our tradition. Also if you would like to know Thai’s father day is 5th December refers to the King Rama9’s birthday and he like yellow color, so on that day in Thailand you can see so much yellow stuffs And Thai’s mother day is 12th August base on the Queen’s birthday and she like light blue. Nevertheless, thank you so much to learn our true tradition. nowadays even our next generation doesn’t truly realize meaning of Thai culture.I really want to exhibit to the foreigner that prostitute, ladyboy,weird eyes, or human trafficking are not our stereotype and strongly hope that the foreigner will stereotype us by our beautiful cultures.
Thankfully,
Sittichai
I live in Thailand for the time being and I am really interested in colours. By the way, today is Wednesday, I’m wearing green.I love Thailand.
For some reason, many people in Songkhla were wearing yellow today, Saturday , 13 Oct. and my local colleague could not explain why. My Daughter found your information interesting !
October 13 is the anniversary of the death of King Bhumibol. It is a public holiday. Many people observe this day by wearing yellow.
I’m a volunteer teacher here for a year and when I noticed they tended to wear the same colours on specific days I wanted to find out more and see if I could join in. Thanks for the info!
I was taught about lucky colors by my first Thai friends. Now I send them pictures of beautiful flowers that match the Thai color of the day (if possible). They enjoy getting a different flower each day! I grow many flowers in my small garden and take a super macro photo to capture the fine details.