Phuket Thailand Songkran Festival Water Festival Thai New Year

Songkran Festival - Water Festival - Thai New Year

Songkran, the Thai New Year celebrated from April 13 to April 15, is the most important, the best known and the gayest of Thailand's festivals. To the Thai people, this festival is one of water splashing and although it has religious significance, it usually turns into great fun. Everyone gets soaking wet and since it is the hottest season of the year, the custom is quite refreshing.

The word Songgran has its origins in the Pali language of the Therevada Buddhist scriptures. In Pali, the work Sankhara (Sankranti in Sanskrit) means a shift of the sun from one side of the Zodiac to another. In this case it means the movement of the sun from Aries to Taurus. The word later became Sangkan in Thai, and then Songkran or Songgran.

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.

Water throwing is one of the most humorous and enjoyable parts of the Songkran festival. It can happen anywhere, and while you're here during Songkran you can enjoy it as much as everyone else.

The origins of the Songgran festival are ancient and have been widely studied. Scholars are relatively certain that Songgran started with the pre-Buddhist Dtai people, remnants of whom still live in North Vietnam. It is inferred that songgran was originally a sort of fertility ceremony to celebrate the New Year. Brahmin priests probably introduced the modern celebration and myth used to explain its origin in the early historic periods.

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.

Thai Buddhist temples traditionally move what are believed to be their holiest statues to open-air pavilions during the Thai New Year to allow worshippers to sprinkle them with water. It sometimes happens that ancient Buddha statues were stolen from shrines erected outside temples to accommodate Thai worshippers. Buddhist artefacts are frequently smuggled from rural Thailand and neighbouring Cambodia to Bangkok markets, where they are often sold to foreign collectors.

When praying and requesting a favor to the Lord Buddha, Thai people take three incense sticks, i.e. one pour the Buddha, one for the Sangha - Buddhist community, one for the Dharma - teachings of the Buddha, a flower - orchid or lotus, which symbolizes the Buddhist teachings purity and a small candle - it symbolizes comprehension enlightenment. They lit the incense sticks and kneel three times and put the incense sticks in front of the statue.

Every year there is a Songkran parade in each town. Every neighborhood decorates a car with Buddhist symbols or local symbols (buffalo, music orchestra, snake, fish and so on...) depending on the area. All decorated cars gather to the town main temple to participate to a contest.