Thailand: Colours of the Day

In Thai tradition, there is an astrological rule (from Hindu mythology) that assigns one particular colour to each day of the week. The colour assigned is based on the colour of the God who protects that particular day. For example, the God of Sunday is Surya which has a red colour. These colours of the day are the traditional Thai birthday colours as well. For example, King Bhumibol was born on Monday, so on his birthday (which was on December 5) the whole of Thailand is decorated in yellow. For the same reason his flag is also yellow.

Many Thai people believe that if they dress with the colour synchronized to the respective day, it will bring good luck. In the past this was very common, nowadays not so much. Although the old tradition isn’t always maintained, most Thai people still know the colours associated with each day. The day of the week on which a person is born still retains importance in Thai culture and the associated colour will be considered their lucky colour. The colours associated with each day are listed below:

Sunday – red
Monday –yellow
Tuesday – pink
Wednesday – green
Thursday – orange

Friday – blue
Saturday – purple

If you wear a blue shirt on Friday, people will notice and might even comment on you wearing the "right" colour. What a great concept – if you follow this tradition you never have to confront the awkward question of "what to wear today". But fahionistas take note, the colour black is not considered a lucky colour, at least not to the older generation. They reserve the black colour for funerals and might even be offended if you wear black on a party. However, if you go to a party of the younger generation, black is trendy – just as anywhere else on the planet.

You can work out the day that you were born by clicking here. So, what is your lucky colour?