I heard from a Thai friend that Thais are wearing either a black or white shirt during the "funeral" period for the royal princess. Has anyone noticed this phenomenon and are farang doing the same?

Has anyone noticed this phenomenon and are farang doing the same?

 

In Pattaya I have noticed no attire out of the ordinary from among Thais and farang.

 

In Pattaya I have noticed no attire out of the ordinary from among Thais and farang.

I was under the impression that black is only a color for mourning in Western countries. In the East I thought that white was the accepted color for those grieving. Although I have actually attended a funeral in the US where all wore white it was because of the Summer heat, not tradition. Someone said that it is rare for Thais to wear black although most look very good wearing it.

On another message board there was a discussion of Thais not wearing black shirts because of association with death. Some say yes and others said no. I have noticed that my bf never wears black for this reason.

 

All white in the summer heat? You must be a southern boy, Jason.

My b/f wore black pants and black shirt on Saturday, and requested that I do the same. I would guess that this was more common in Bangkok; here in Pattaya there was little of it.

 

In Japan the funeral color is white but that does not apply to Thailand. If you watched the services on TV you would see that many attendees were wearing a white top and black pants, because that is the civil service uniform. Black arm bands were pinned to the white jackets. Everyone else wore all black.

 

Even apart from such solemn occasions, I have not seen Thai guys avoiding black. It is stylish and most often suits their hair & skin color. It is a rule at many of Bangkok's tonier hair salons that the staff must wear nothing but black and white, so their outfits range from all white to all black.

The government asked everyone to wear black for the three days of official mourning. Here in Bangkok, a lot of Thais (and quite a few farang) wore black yesterday, but it was by no means universal. I noticed at the Cremation Ceremony last night most were wearing black.

My b/f wore black pants and black shirt on Saturday, and requested that I do the same. I would guess that this was more common in Bangkok; here in Pattaya there was little of it.

 

Keep posting mahjonguy! This forum needs feedback from members.