No one in the world knows better how to do a good water fight than Thai.
Also known as Water Festival, Songkran Festival is the official New Year in Thailand landing on April 13th each year and lasting around 2-3 days or even as long as a week!
With super-soakers in hands, the streets in Thailand fill with people aiming at each other preparing to soak and get soaked. From water guns to big water buckets, local people and tourists from all over the world get together to splash water onto each other as a way to express their love. Even Thai police wrap their real weapons with plastic bags and jump into the water war.
The word “Songkran”, derived from Sanskrit language, means “Pass” or “Move into”. Just like washing out dirt from our body, water symbols cleansing, which is exactly what Thai people want to do in a whole new year.
In fact, Songkran is more than just water fights. Aside from pouring water onto each other, it is also a time for Thai people to pay homage to Buddha, feed Buddhist monks, and clean the old and useless stuff out of their houses. Thai people also celebrate Songkran in a traditional way- going back to their hometown to meet elders.
Also a Buddhist Festival, Songkran is believed to have originated from India. Similar to Indian Holi Festival which focuses on arts and is restricted to a single day , Songkran is featured by water and usually lasts longer.
In Thailand, besides water, talcum is used to celebrate Songkran as well. Recently, colors are imported from India and being used by some revelers along with water.
So, now, wash out the past year and get ready for the wonderful Thai New Year!
Interested in learning more about Thai culture? Contact Evelyn at evelynloveblog@gmail.com
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