Although most of the world heralds in the dawning of a New Year on the 1st of January the citizens of Thailand wait till the hot summer days of April to hark in their traditional New Year in grand fashion. Dubbed the Songkran Festival the Thai New Year is a red letter event marked across the country from the 13th to the 15th of April every year. Although the dates for the festival were declared by the yearly consultation of a solar calendar the aforementioned dates have been selected to celebrate the festival in recent times. As a national holiday most Thais head to their hometowns to hark in the New Year with loved ones as family values play a vital role in the festivities which has a deep rooted legacy in Thai culture that dates back centuries.
The first day of the festival coincides with the Rod Nam Dum Hua custom when Thais pay tribute to their elders on National Elders Day. During the first day various cultural practices are observed such as younger members of the family pouring aromatic water on to the palms of their grandparents or elders in a ritual that displays humility while asking for the blessings of the older members of the family. The second day of the festival is known as National Family Day and is devoted to meritorious activities one performs with members of the family and close relatives. Thais flock to Buddhist temples early in the morning to offer alms to priests and bathe the Buddha statue of the temple with incensed water as well as at the Buddha image home. Meritorious activities hit an all time high during this holiday as a visit to the nine holy temples of the country is considered a must by devout Buddhists. The religious edifices in Rattanokosin such as Wat Arun, Wat Phra Kaeo, Wat Benchamabophit see an influx of visitors both local and foreign origin during Songkran.
Splashing passers- by and loved ones with water on the streets of Bangkok is another familiar Songkran ritual as the act of throwing water is believed to cleanse one of the misfortunes of the year past and hark in the New Year with a refreshing start. Today this custom has evolved in to a popular New Year activity as Thais with water guns and pales of water occupy certain areas of the city where a big splash party takes place almost simultaneously every year.
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Umanga Kahandawaarachchi is a passionate travel writer who writes under the pen name, Maggie Tulliver. Her field of writing covers a wide array of content and articles related to travel and hospitality industry.
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