"Songkran" is the thai traditional New Year and an occasion for family reunion. At this time, people from the rural areas who are working in the city usually return home to celebrate the festival. Thus, when the time comes, Bangkok temporarily turns into a deserted city.

 

The festival falls on April 13 and the annual celebration is held throughout the kingdom. In fact, "Songkran" is a Thai word which means "move" or "change place" as it is the day when the sun changes its position in the zodiac. It is also known as the "Water Festival" as people believe that water will wash away badluck.

 

This Thai traditional New Year begins with early morning merit-making, offering food to Buddhist monks and releasing caged birds to fly freely into the sky. During this auspicious occasion, any animals kept will be set free. Paying homage to one’s ancestors is an important part of the day. People will pay their respects to the elders by pouring scented water over the palms of their hands. The elders in return with the youngsters good luck and prosperity.

 

In the afternoon, after performing a bathing rite for Buddha images and the monks, the celebrants both young and old, joyfully splash water on each other. The most-talked about celebration takes place in the northern province of chiang Mai where Songkaan is celebrated from April 13 to 15 During this period, people from all parts of the country flock there to enjoy the water festival, to watch the Miss Songkran Contest and the beautiful parades.

 

In Bangkok, the Buddha image "Buddhasihing" is brought out from the National Museum for people to sprinkle lustral water at Sanam Luang, opposite the Grand Palace.

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. At this time, people from the rural areas who are working in the city usually return home to celebrate the festival. Thus, when the time come, Bangkok temporarily turns into a deserted city.

Songkran is a Thai word which means "move" or "change place" as it is the day when the sun changes its position in the zodiac. It is also known as the "Water Festival" as people believe that water will wash away bad luck.

The Songkran tradition is recognized as a valuable custom for the Thai community, society and religions. The value for family is to provide the opportunity for family members to gather in order to express their respects to the elders by pouring scented water onto the hands of their parents and grandparents and to present them gifts including making merits to dedicate the result to their ancestors. The elders in return wish the youngsters good luck and prosperity.

The values for community is to provide the opportunity to create unity in the community such as to jointly acquire merits, to meet each other and to enjoy the entertaining events. And for the society value is to create concern upon environment with cooperation such as to clean houses, temples, public places and official buildings. Thais value the religion bye means of merits acquisition, offerings alms to monks, Dhamma Practice, listening to sermon and monks-bathing.

In the afternoon, after performing a bathing rite for Buddha images and the monks, the celebrants both young and old, joyfully splash water oon each other. The most-talked about celebration takes place in the northern province of Chiang Mai where Songkran is celebrated from April 13 to 15. During this period, people from all parts of the country flock there to enjoy the water festival, to watch the Miss Songkran Contest and the beautiful parades.

Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year festival since the former time. It is a celebration that embraces goodwill, love, compassion, and thankfulness, using water as the means of expression.

The word Songkran derives from Sanskrit meaning to move or step forward. The first day of Songkran takes place when the sun moves from Pisces into Aries, which marks the New Year's Day according to the Brahmin solar system.

April 13 th is also declared the Day of the Senior or Elderly by the government. The occasion marks the appreciation for the senior population for their years of contribution to the family and country.

The 14 th of April is designated as Family Day to celebrate family love and togetherness.

The importance of Songkran Festival

Songkran is regarded as one of the most important traditions in Thailand because it encompasses the three major values in the Thai way of life which are:

Value of family: Songkran is the time when family members come together to show appreciation, love and respect as well as making merit and paying homage to their ancestors.

Value of society: Through active participation and interaction with each other, Songkran brings the people in the community together to enhance goodwill and unity in the society.

Value of religion: Making merit by offering food to monks, going to the temples and attending Buddhist sermons are auspicious activities done during Songkran .

 

Who is Nang Songkran?

In the old days, when mass communications was somewhat limited, in order to help the illiterate learn on which day of the week Songkran was, a story on the origin of Nang Songkran was created . It was said that Tao Kabilaprom had seven daughters, known collectively as Nang Songkran . In a gambling game that he lost to Thammakumarn, Tao Kabilaprom had to pay his debt with his head. However, his head must not come into contact with the ground, air or water because it would cause catastrophes. To maintain peace on earth, his head was placed on a tray which was then taken to Krailad Mountain . Every year, one of the daughters would bring the head down to town for procession. Each daughter was unique in her own way and was identified by her ornaments, choice of weapons and means of transport symbolised by animals. Since there were seven daughters, they also served as fairy for each day of the week. The names of the seven Nang Songkran for each day are:

Sunday Tung-sa, Garuda

Monday Ko-ra-ka, Tiger

Tuesday Rak-so, Pig

Wednesday Mon-ta, Donkey

Thursday Kiri-nee, Elephant

Friday Kimi-ta, Buffalo

Saturday Maho-torn, Peacock

Nang Songkran not only represents the day of the week, but back then people often associated her characteristics to the type of weather they could expect for that year, too.

What to do during Songkran Festival

 To celebrate Songkran , there are many activities throughout Thailand which vary according to regional tradition. Some of the activities include:

•  Cleaning of houses and public places such as temples, schools, offices to welcome the New Year with cleanliness and fresh start.

•  Merit making by offering alms to monks in dedication to the late ancestors, going to the temples to listen to Buddhist preaching.
•  Releasing birds and fish back to their natural habitat is a common practice during Songkran . This act of giving freedom is a form of merit making.

 

•  Sprinkling water onto Buddha images and monks  is an auspicious act to receive blessings for the New Year.

•  Building sand pagodas on temple ground. Bringing sand into the temple's premise is considered a merit because the sand can be used or reused for construction or restoration by the temple.

•  Pouring water onto the elderly members of the family and/or the society to show respect and gratefulness and to ask for their blessing.

•  Folk performances and traditional games are organised for enjoyment as well as to preserve the Songkran tradition.

•  Throwing water at each other in a friendly manner by using clean or scented water, exchanging New Year's greetings during water play, and in case of doubt, ask permission before throwing water at someone because he or she may not wish to get wet.
What NOT to do during Songkran

As water throwing has become popular during Songkran , it is recommended that the following practice is avoided:

- The use of dirty water, ice, mixture of dangerous items such as paint, dye and plant seeds, etc. may cause injuries to other people's eyes or other parts of their body.

•  Throwing water at people who are riding on moving vehicles such as motorcycles, cars etc. may cause serious accidents.

•  Using modified gadgets like PVC pump tube which produces high water pressure could cause serious injuries to others. Lewd acts such as applying powder paste on others' face, especially females', inappropriate physical contacts and touching are unacceptable.

•  Too much alcohol consumption, especially in public places could cause annoyance and unrests. Moderate drinking with friends and families in one's own privacy is preferred.

•  Driving after drinking can and do cause fatal road accidents every year.