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The Songkran festival
Songkran is a Thai traditional New Year which starts on April 13 every year and lasts for 3 days. Songkran festival on April 13 is Maha Songkran Day or the
day to mark the end of the old year, April 14 is Wan Nao which is the day after and April 15 is Wan Thaloeng Sok which the New Year begins.
The word Songkran (เทศกาลสงกรานต์) means "The beginning of a new solar
year". It is a Sanskrit word that in a way resembles the Christian Easter. The young and the old visit their Wat where food is offered to the monks and music
is played to accompany the feast. As in the case of Chinese New Year, here too on the eve of Songkran, women clean their homes and throw away the old and useless
items.
 Aromatic water from trhe youngones
On the 13th day, the Buddha idols are bathed with aromatic water. The youngsters of the family pour this water into the hands of the elders and parents as a
mark of respect and seek their blessings.
The Buddha image "Buddhasihing" is brought out from the National Museum, in Bangkok, for people to sprinkle lustral water at Sanam Luang, opposite the
Grand Palace.
Another popular custom of the Songkran festival is, to set free birds and fishes. During this festival, the entire place comes alive with music, dance and
parades. It is believed that giant serpents or "nagas" bring rain to the crops by taking water from the sea. This is also the time when religious services are
carried out in memory of the dead.
 Water throwing in the Provences
In true Thai style, Songkran is a festival that can be enjoyed and shared by all and cherished forever.
In recent years, the tradition of sprinkling water has been interpreted by youngsters as a great excuse for a water fight, and it is not uncommon to have buckets
and containers of water thrown at you by teams of merry makers in the backs of trucks as you make your way down the street - particularly in major tourist areas.
The place to enjoy the songkran festival, for the visitor, is SA-NAM-LUANG (สนามหลวง). Bangkok Metropolitan
Administration (BMA) provide a lot of activities for people to joint and enjoy.
 Everyone Joins in
Small children delight in equipping themselves with water guns and spraying anyone who comes in their path - no one is exempt!
Remember this date when you are out and about in Patong, Bangkok, walking down South Pattaya, in Puket or Chiang Mai. Leave your cameras and anything likely to
suffer water damage behind in your hotel room, because you will get wet.
Each year, the four-day celebration of Songkran consists of many activities, and these are briefly explained below.
April 12 - Wan Sungkharn Lohng.
This is a day for house cleaning and general preparation for the New Year. In the evening it is traditional for Thais' to dress up as a signal of the coming
new year. In Chiang Mai, the Songkran procession is held on this day. This is a parade through Chiang Mai comprised of Buddha images and attendants on floats, which
are accompanied by minstrels and the town's people. The procession begins at Nawarat Bridge on the Mae Ping River and moves the Thapae Gate before approaching its
final destination of Wat Prasingh.
April 13 - Wan Nao.
On this day people prepare cooked meals and preserved food for the Buddhist merit-making that takes place on the following day. Activities at Wat Prasingh
continue on this day and in the evening local residents go to the banks of the Mae Ping River and gather sand to be deposited in piles topped by flowers in the temples.
This practice is the ancient "raising the temple grounds" ritual which was necessary in the old days because then Thai New Year was held at the end of the rainy
season in the first month of the old Thai Lunar Calendar.
April 14 - Wan Payawan.
On this day a grand new year begins with early morning merit-making at the temples. Preserved and cooked foods, fresh fruit, monks' robes and other offerings are
made at the temples. In the home, people do the final cleaning of Buddha images using scented water. Traditionally this is the day that the pouring of water begins. It
was once the practice to pour gently, but the fun-loving Thais have transposed this into a relative water free-for-all.
April 15 - Wan Parg-bpee.
On this day homage is paid to ancestors, elders and other persons deserving respect because of age of position. This is called 'Rohd Nam Songkran', meaning
'The Pouring of Songkran Water', and the water is sprinkled on the elder persons while uttering wishes of good luck and a happy future. In Chiang Mai, this is
the final day of the celebration and the day on which people have built up to a crescendo of water throwing. It is the day when all family and religious obligations have
been completed and the people are totally dedicated to "Sanook...Sanook."
"The sweetness of food doesn't last long, but the sweetness of good words does." | |
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