Christmas in Pai

Christmas at Nolo Hub Pai (24–25 December)

We cover the hostel in decorations, and it’s become a tradition to chop down our biggest banana tree and bring it inside as our Banana Christmas Tree. On Christmas morning the common area and the pool fill up with guests video-calling home, so you’ll probably meet a few other people’s families and wish them a merry Christmas too. And because Christmas Day falls on a Friday this year, Friday’s Tipsy Tubing moves to Boxing Day (Saturday 26 December) so you can do the full Christmas Day feast and still hit the river the next afternoon.

Christmas Eve: Two Mountain Schools

Christmas for us starts at 11am on Thursday 24 December, when we head up into the hills around Pai to visit two local mountain schools for our Christmas Donation Drive (500 THB donation). It’s one of the most memorable mornings of the year. We’re back in town with plenty of time to catch the 4.30pm Christmas Eve sunset together at Two Huts (100 THB transport), followed by Speed Friending, Squid Games and our Christmas Eve bar crawl from 8pm so you already know half the tables before Christmas morning arrives.

Christmas Day at Nolo Hub Pai: 25 December

Christmas Day is the biggest day of the year at Nolo Hub Pai. We ease into the morning at 10am with ice baths in the garden and a free fruit salad brunch in the sun, then gather round at 11am to unwrap Secret Santa presents — anyone who wants in picks another guest’s name from reception between Tuesday 22 December and Christmas morning and finds them a small gift in town (up to 250 THB, wrapping paper on us).

The afternoon is for lounging by the pool with Christmas tunes and drink specials before we load up at 4.30pm for a free sunset trip out to Pai Canyon. By the time we get back, the long tables are set for 7pm and our fifth annual all-you-can-eat Christmas Backpacker Feast (400 THB, drinks not included): honey-smoked ham, roast chicken, vegan mushroom steak and eggplant parmesan, mashed and roasted potatoes, stuffing, gravy, warm brownies and pumpkin pie. Every year between 100 and 180 people sit down together for it, and you don’t have to be staying at Nolo Hub Pai to pull up a chair — backpackers from guesthouses all over Pai join us, and once the plates are cleared at 10pm we head into town together on the Christmas Night Bar Crawl.

Does Pai really celebrate Christmas? Why December is festive in Northern Thailand

A lot of people expect Christmas to pass Thailand by. Most Thais are Buddhist and Christmas isn’t a public holiday, so the 25th is a normal working day, and the markets, shops and Walking Street open as usual.

Northern Thailand is different. Karen Christians from Burma were starting churches among Thai Karen in the 1880s, and today many Karen, Lahu, Lisu and Akha families in the north are Christian. For them, Christmas is one of the most important times of the year.

That includes Pai. A large Christian Karen community lives right in the middle of town, and out in Thung Yao, one of Pai’s subdistricts, the council lists Christmas Day among the area’s yearly traditions, alongside Buddhist festivals like Yi Peng. For Karen families, Christmas also comes once the rice harvest is in, so late December is a time to rest, see family and celebrate.

If you’d like to go to a service or hear the carols, ask us and we’ll point you in the right direction. They’re family and church occasions, so ask before you take photos of people.

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