November 2026 Festivals & Events

The Kate Festival is the premier annual event for the Cham people of Ninh Thuan, Vietnam, celebrated over three days during the seventh Cham calendar month. It honors ancestral creator deities, historical kings, and community heroes. Sacred rituals take place across key Cham temples, including Po Klong Garai, Po Nagar, and Po Rome, and feature door-opening ceremonies (Poh Bang), statue bathing, hymn chanting, and traditional costume dances (Poh Akharao). After the solemn religious rites, villages unite for vibrant cultural festivities, music, and family reunions.

The Ok Om Bok Festival is an annual celebration of the Khmer people, held during the October full moon of the Buddhist calendar, primarily in Tra Vinh and Soc Trang provinces. In Khmer belief, the Moon is the god of weather and crops. The festival expresses gratitude and prayers for good harvests. Key highlights include releasing paper lanterns to send wishes of prosperity to the Moon god and exciting Ngo boat racing, a traditional rite to bid farewell to the water god after the planting season, accompanied by joyous music and special regional art performances.

Cambodia Independence Day is celebrated every November 9 to commemorate the nation’s 1953 free-dom from French colonial rule. The main festivities take place in Phnom Penh, beginning with an of-ficial ceremony and lighting of the ceremonial flame at the iconic Independence Monument. Celebra-tions continue with a grand parade featuring colorful floats and marching bands in front of the Royal Palace. By evening, illuminated buildings and spectacular firework displays along the riverbanks light up the city. Nationwide, Cambodians honor their history through festivals, cultural sharing, and community gatherings.

Bon Om Touk, Cambodia’s three-day Water Festival, is celebrated annually during the November full moon to mark the end of the monsoon season and the Tonle Sap River’s natural flow reversal. The fes-tival’s main highlight features competitive longboat races along the rivers, with teams from across the country showcasing traditional heritage. At night, illuminated boats glide across the water while fam-ilies float lanterns to shed misfortune and welcome blessings. Celebrations also include sacred ritu-als like Sampeah Preah Khe (saluting the moon) and Auk Ambok, a communal feast honoring Buddha.

Full Moon Day of Tazaungmone, the peak of Myanmar’s Tazaungdaing “Festival of Lights,” is a pub-lic holiday held during the eighth month of the Burmese calendar (usually November). Marking the end of the rainy season, the festival features lighting and releasing hot-air balloons into the night sky as of-ferings to Buddhist devas and a way to ward off evil spirits. The grandest celebrations occur in Taunggyi, fa-mous for its spectacular display of massive, illuminated paper balloons launched high above the crowd.

Loy Krathong, Thailand’s Festival of Lights, takes place on the full moon night of the 12th lunar month. Celebrants float decorated banana trunk baskets—called krathongs—on rivers to release mis-fortune and invite good luck. The festival is especially striking in Chiang Mai, where it overlaps with Yi Peng, a lantern festival that fills the night sky with glowing orbs. Candlelit krathongs, lanterns, fire-works, and cultural parades light up the city. In Bangkok, riverside temples like Wat Arun and Wat Yannawa become key launch spots, with river cruises offering a serene way to join the celebration.

All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day (November 1–2, 2026), collectively known as Undas, are major reli-gious observances in the Philippines dedicated to honoring the dead. The holiday triggers a massive na-tionwide travel rush as families gather in cemeteries to clean, paint, and adorn graves with candles and flowers. Rather than a purely mournful event, it acts as a joyful family reunion featuring overnight grave-side vigils, shared meals, and traditional Catholic prayers. Rooted in deep faith and strong familial bonds, Undas remains one of the most cherished and widely observed cultural traditions across the country.

The Sanduguan Festival is a historic cultural celebration held in Calapan City during Oriental Mindoro’s found-ing anniversary. Meaning “one blood,” Sanduguan commemorates the peaceful pre-colonial trade relations and blood compact between the indigenous Mangyan people and early Chinese merchants. The festival fea-tures dynamic street-dancing competitions where performers wear costumes combining Mangyan and Chi-nese motifs to reenact historical exchanges. Accompanied by trade fairs, cultural pageants, and lively pa-rades, the event honors the island’s rich heritage, enduring unity, and peaceful ties among diverse cultures.

The P’yagsawitan Festival is a colorful harvest thanksgiving celebration held in Maragusan, Davao de Oro. Derived from the Mansaka term for “thanksgiving,” the festival honors the region’s rich agricultur-al yield and indigenous heritage. It features lively street-dancing competitions where performers wear tra-ditional Mansaka attire and portray ancestral rituals, farming traditions, and local folklore. Held along-side the town’s founding anniversary (Araw ng Maragusan), the event highlights community unity, indigenous culture, agro-industrial trade fairs, and the cool highland town’s natural eco-tourism attractions.

The Universal Children’s Festival is a month-end celebration in Dapitan City, Zamboanga del Norte, dedi-cated to promoting child rights and youth empowerment. Aligned with Universal Children’s Day, the event transforms the historic city into a vibrant showcase of youth talent through colorful street parades, cos-tume pageants, art contests, and musical performances. Deeply connected to Dr. Jose Rizal’s legacy of ed-ucating youth during his exile in Dapitan, the festival brings together schools, local government, and fami-lies to foster child welfare, community engagement, and creative expression among the younger generation.

The Feast of San Clemente / Higantes Festival is a famous art and religious festival celebrated in Angono, Rizal. Honoring St. Clement, the patron saint of fishermen, the celebration features a grand procession to La-guna de Bay alongside the famous higantes—towering, 12-foot paper-mâché giant puppets carried through the streets. Originally created during Spanish colonial rule as satirical art, these giants now depict local cul-ture and community figures. Celebrants participate in a joyful basaan (water-drenching tradition) to sym-bolize cleansing and thanksgiving, making it one of the most vibrant artistic festivals in the Philippines.

The Day-ang Di Onga Festival is a vibrant, youth-focused cultural gathering held annually in Baguio City. Coin-ciding with Bonifacio Day, the festival gathers young Cordillerans from across the region to “celebrate life” and honor their indigenous heritage. Unlike saint-centered Philippine fiestas, this event centers on cultural preser-vation, youth expression, and community identity. Highlights include energetic traditional dance routines, live indigenous music performances, gong beating, and art showcases. The festival provides a creative platform for the younger generation to proudly display their Igorot roots while promoting peace, unity, and artistic expression.

Bonifacio Day is a regular national holiday in the Philippines commemorating the birth anniversary of Andrés Bonifacio, the “Father of the Philippine Revolution.” Celebrated on his birthday to honor his living legacy and patriotism, the day features flag-raising ceremonies, military honors, and wreath-laying events led by govern-ment officials at key historical sites like the Bonifacio Monument in Caloocan and Pinaglabanan Shrine. Across the country, the holiday reminds Filipinos of courage, self-determination, and the fight for national freedom.

The Pintaflores Festival is a colorful annual cultural and religious celebration held in San Carlos City, Negros Occi-dental. Honoring Saint Charles Borromeo, the festival merges the pre-colonial pintados tradition of body painting with floral thanksgiving customs. Its hallmark feature is the street-dancing competition, where performers adorned in floral costumes and intricate body paint perform rhythmic routines depicting local folklore, including the heal-ing legend of Princess Nabingka. Combining rich historical heritage, artistic body painting, and religious devotion, Pintaflores is widely recognized as one of the most visually stunning and vibrant festivals in the Visayas region.

Diwali / Deepavali (Festival of Lights) is an annual Hindu celebration observed in Indonesia, predominantly within the Indonesian-Indian communities of Medan, Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bali. Symbolizing the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil, the festival features the lighting of diyas (oil lamps), intricate ran-goli floral art, temple prayers, and vibrant fireworks. Families gather for Lakshmi Puja, exchange traditional sweets, and enjoy festive feasts that unique blend Indian heritage with local Indonesian cultural elements.

Deepavali (Festival of Lights) is a major national holiday in Malaysia celebrating the victory of light over dark-ness. Celebrated by the Malaysian-Indian Hindu community, the day begins before dawn with ritual oil baths, temple prayers, and blessings. Homes and public spaces display elaborate kolam floor patterns made of colored rice flour, while Little India districts come alive with vibrant light displays and markets. A corner-stone of the celebration is the Malaysian “Open House” (Rumah Terbuka) tradition, where families welcome people of all ethnicities and faiths into their homes to share festive meals, savory murukku, and sweet treats.

Lhabab Duchen is a sacred national public holiday honoring Shakyamuni Buddha’s descent from the heavens back to Earth. As a deeply spiritual day where karmic merit is believed to multiply exponen-tially, Bhutanese citizens visit temples, light butter lamps, chant prayers, and circumambulate stupas. Prior to the holiday, communities repaint and clean local chortens and monasteries to welcome the Bud-dha’s return. Marked by acts of compassion, charity, and widespread vegetarianism, Lhabab Duchen highlights Bhutan’s rich Buddhist heritage and national devotion to spiritual living and mindfulness.

The Black-necked Crane Festival is an eco-cultural celebration held in Bhutan’s scenic Phobjikha Val-ley at Gangtey Goenpa. The event welcomes the seasonal return of endangered Black-necked Cranes migrating from Tibet, revered locally as sacred heralds of good fortune. Highlighting Bhutan’s com-mitment to environmental conservation and Gross National Happiness, the festival features local school-children performing the iconic “Crane Dance” in bird costumes to mimic the cranes’ movements.

The Birth Anniversary of the Fourth Druk Gyalpo (November 11, 2026) is a national holiday in Bhutan honor-ing King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, born on this day in 1955. Celebrated alongside Constitution Day, the oc-casion commemorates the Fourth King’s transformative leadership. Observed across all twenty districts, the day features official ceremonies, traditional Marchang rituals, cultural dances, and community gather-ings, honoring a beloved monarch who laid the foundation for modern, sustainable, and democratic Bhutan.

The Trashigang Tshechu is the premier religious and cultural festival in eastern Bhutan, held within the com-manding Trashigang Dzong. Dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava, the three-day event features sacred, vi-brant mask dances (Cham) performed by monks to cleanse bad karma and bring peace to the valley. The festival serves as a major social gathering for eastern communities, including the highland Brokpa no-mads arriving in unique traditional attire. Ending with the dawn unfurling of a colossal silk thongdrel tap-estry, the tshechu offers spiritual liberation, blessings, and a celebration of eastern Bhutanese heritage.

The Mongar Tshechu is a vital religious and social gathering in eastern Bhutan, held annually in the courtyard of Mongar Dzong. Dedicated to Guru Padmasambhava, the three-day festival features sa-cred masked dances performed by monks and locals in ornate silk robes. These rituals are believed to purify negative karma, ward off evil spirits, and bring blessings to the community. Drawing lo-cals from across Mongar and neighboring districts dressed in their finest attire, the festival culminates on the final morning with the sacred unfurling of a giant silk thongdrel tapestry for public veneration.

The Nalakhar Tshechu is an off-the-beaten-path religious festival held at Nalakhar Lhakhang in Bumthang, Bhutan’s spiritual heartland. Set in a quiet, picturesque village, this annual three-day event offers an au-thentic glimpse into rural Buddhist culture away from tourist crowds. Dedicated to bringing peace, pros-perity, and bountiful harvests to the valley, the festival features sacred mask dances performed by monks and local villagers. Locals gather dressed in vibrant traditional attire to socialize, share feasts, and re-ceive spiritual blessings, making it a rich celebration of central Bhutanese heritage and community spirit.

Culture Day (Bunka no Hi) is a national holiday in Japan dedicated to promoting the arts, academics, and cultural awareness. Originally established to commemorate the 1946 postwar Constitution, the day hon-ors peace and freedom while celebrating Japanese heritage. Highlights include the prestigious Order of Culture awards ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where leading scholars and artists are recognized by the Emperor. Nationwide, citizens enjoy free admission to museums and art galleries, while schools host vibrant cultural festivals (bunkasai), fostering a deep national appreciation for creativity and learning.

Labor Thanksgiving Day (Kinro Kansha no Hi), is a national public holiday in Japan honoring workers, productivity, and mutual gratitude. Rooted in the ancient Shinto harvest ritual Niiname-sai—where the Emperor offers newly harvested rice to the deities—the holiday was modernized in 1948 to embrace all forms of labor. Today, Shinto shrines still hold traditional rice-offering rites, while children nationwide give handmade cards and gifts to local service personnel like police and firefighters, making it a day focused on civic gratitude and labor appreciation.