Songkran Festival – Thai New Year
The Songkran festival has been known to be one of the most important and grandest events of Thailand.
In Thailand, sanuk, or fun, is one of the foundations of life. It is what all Thais demand of leisure time activities, and ceaselessly try adding to work activities and chores. This same philosophy is even applied to holidays, and Thais are probably the most enthusiastic revelers in the world. And the magical Songkran Festival is probably the greatest example of this.
Songkran, which is the Thai New Year, is held every year from April 13 – 15. It is the biggest public holiday of the year, and for these three days most business activity shuts down and the party begins. Bangkok has the feel of a ghost town, as probably half its residents go “upcountry” to return to their hometown for visits to parents and grandparents, or simply seize the opportunity for a short vacation. Songkran has two aspects: the religious and cultural, and the wet ‘n wild celebrations.
The main significance of Songkran is to mark the beginning of the rain season. While tourists may not be fond of this, after four months of arid weather that parches their fields, Thai farmers need the rain for their livelihood. The first activity starts in the evening on the 12th, when housewives give the house a thorough cleaning, hoping to avoid bad luck by discarding old clothing and household goods. On the morning of the 13th, people wear new clothing and visit the temple, bringing gifts of food and other items to the monks to make merit for themselves and their ancestors. Buddha images are bathed and cleansed. Most importantly, scented water is poured over the hands of elders and monks in a show of respect. Sand is brought to the temple, and worshippers make sand castles in the shape of chedis, or pagodas, in which they plant flags, flowers, and incense sticks. This is done because they believe that every time they visit a temple, they take away a few grains of sand on the soles of their shoes, and this is a way of returning the sand. Fish are released into the streams, to replenish the stock that may have disappeared in the droughts of dry season. All of these activities are in one way or another meant for cleansing and purification.
And now for the celebration. Ah yes, the part of Songkran that so many people look forward to. If you are in Thailand in mid-April prepare to get wet, because foreigners and Thais alike take part in the world’s biggest water fight, both to have fun and to cool off from the peak of the hot summer season. The biggest celebration in the city is certainly on Khao Sarn Road, usually a tourist and backpacker hangout, but on this day foreigners are nearly invisible in the sea of partiers. Squirt guns, buckets, cups, squeeze water bottles - anything is used that can get water from point A to the target person with accuracy and velocity. Of course, the most prized weapon is the super-soaker; these are the people you want to befriend and walk behind! Anyone out in public is fair game, whether participating or not. Pick-up trucks drive around the city, with a bucket brigade riding in the back ready to give a refreshing splash to any pedestrian within range of the road. Besides Khao Sarn Rd, the throng of aqua warriors spill over to the open field of nearby Sanam Luang, and all of Sukhumvit Road is a battleground.
Whereas the biggest celebration in Bangkok is Khao Sarn Road, the grandest festival in Thailand is in Chiang Mai. There seems to be something about the history of the city, the large number of temples, and the cooler climate that draws so many visitors at this time of year. Hotels are fully booked far in advance, and traffic is virtually halted on the downtown roads. The celebrations also seem to be better organized. While the water fights in Bangkok are anywhere and everywhere, Chiang Mai’s are mainly in the area of the moat and walled section of the city. It is well known that Thailand is famous for beautiful women, and the ladies of Chiang Mai are thought to be the most beautiful in the country. With that in mind, just to view the Miss Songkran Contest and Parade alone might be worth a trip to this northern city. If you can’t make it there don’t worry, every province and nearly every city and town has a Miss Songkran pageant that will have more than its share of beauty queens. Other places near Bangkok with exciting and popular festivities include Pattaya, Ayutthaya, and Phuket. And in recent years, the celebration on Ko Samui has grown in popularity to make it one of the biggest in the country.
Many tourists make it a point to visit Thailand specifically for Songkran because of all the fun. Thai people look forward to the next Songkran as soon as the last one ends. So smile, grab a weapon, splash and get splashed. It’s a festival; soak in the fun and soak in the water.
