Songkran

Songkran: Thailand's Water Festival

The Songkran festival is the traditional Thai New Year's Day and is celebrated from April 13th to April 15th.

The word Songkran is from the Sanskrit language and means the passage of the sun from one sign of the Zodiac to another. That means there are twelve Songkrans each year, but the significance of this Songkran (sometimes called Major Songkran to distinguish it from the others) is when the sun enters the sign of Aries the Ram. The particular event was also closely related to the Vernal Equinox.

Celebrating New Year at the time of the Vernal Equinox was very common in the past.

In Thailand, New Year is now officially celebrated on January 1st, in line with almost all other countries. Songkran was the official New Year until 1888, when it was switched to a fixed date of April 1st. It wasn't until 1940, that this date was then shifted to January 1st.

Making a splash - celebrating Songkran

The most famous aspect of the Songkran celebrations is the throwing of water. The custom originates from spring cleaning aspect of Songkran. Part of the ritual was the cleaning of images of Buddha. Using the 'blessed' water that cleaned the images to soak other people is seen as a way of paying respect and bring good fortune.

It also doesn't hurt that April is the hottest part of the year in Thailand, so being soaked is a refreshing escape from the heat and humidity.

Nowadays Thais will walk the streets having 'water fights' using containers of water or water guns, or stand at the side of roads with a hose and soak anyone who passes by.

You may also get covered in chalk, a custom originating from the chalk used by monks to mark blessings. 

https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/thailand/songkran-festival