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Kattie Downes: The absence of disease symptoms that a Western physician can diagnose is not yet synonymous with health. More than that, health is a magic state of well-being. Yes, Western medicine has its justification especially with pharmaceutical plant extracts (such as antibiotics), but overall well-being is better augmented by traditional healthcare that uses herbs, massages, and other comforting techniques that strengthen the body's own tools to achieve health.

Kattie Downes: La ausencia de síntomas de la enfermedad que un médico puede diagnosticar occidental todavía no es sinónimo de salud. Más que eso, la salud es un estado mágico de bienestar. Sí, la medicina occidental tiene su justificación en especial con extractos de plantas farmacéuticas (como los antibióticos), pero el bienestar general es mejor aumentada por la salud tradicional que utiliza hierbas, masajes y otras técnicas de consuelo que reforzar los instrumentos del propio cuerpo para lograr la salud.




Own copyrighted text:

Celebrations/Holidays

The Thai holiday calendar varies widely from the Western holiday calendar. As the country is Buddhist there is not a single Christian holiday, neither Easter nor Christmas. The only holidays that match the Western calendar are New Year Day and Labor Day.

Thailand has more holidays than most Western countries. They are easily categorized in two groups: religious holidays and holidays pertaining to the monarchy.

Aside from the normal national holidays, there are many regional holidays, mostly in context with local religious festivals. Then there are ethnic holidays which are not of national ranking but nevertheless have the effect that many businesses are closed. The most important but not the only one is Chinese New Year in February.

Furthermore, the government may declare a holiday for special occasions. This had happened in October 1991 when the IMF and the Worldbank had their joint meeting in Bangkok. The two weekdays of the meeting were declared holidays primarily to ease traffic in Bangkok. But in spite of the fact that the IMF and the Worldbank had no business in the Thai provinces, the holiday was observed throughout the country and even at Thai embassies and consulates abroad. The cost of two additional holidays must have been immense for the national economy but no-one bothered to do any accounting.

Most religious holidays, like in the Christian religious calendar, are attached to the lunar calendar and are frequently on nights of a full moon. This writer feels that these were logically chosen because before the days of electrical illumination it was mainly the moon which had to provide light after dark.

OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS

January 1 - New Year’s Day

February (full moon day) - Makka Bucha

April 6 - Chakri Day

April 13 - Songkran, Thai New Year

May 1 - Labor Day

May 5 - Coronation Day

May 7 - Ploughing Ceremony

May (full moon day) - Visakha Bucha

July (full moon day) - Asanha Bucha commemorates the first sermon of Buddha

August 12 - Queen’s Birthday

October 23 - Chulalongkorn Day

December 5 - King’s Birthday

December 10 - Constitution Day

December 31 - New Year’s Eve

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After World War II, sexology experienced a renaissance, beginning in the United States.

         
  
 
Copyright: Craig Kluster
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