Welcoming The New Year With The Joy Of Water Splashing
During their hottest month on the year and at the end of the dry season
, the Thai celebrate their entry into a new year on April 13th- 15th each year that commonly coincides with similar festivals in South East Asia. The popular ritual in the festival is very much appropriate to the dry climate in Thailand at this time of year, and the splashing of water in the streets at each other seems like the best celebration in that time.
However there is more to Songkran than the water throwing. It is a time when Thai Buddhists pay homage to their religion by pouring water on Buddha statues sometimes with special fragrant substances as a ritual. Sometimes these statues are paraded in the streets so people could pay homage by pouring water on them. Another practiced custom is to offer food to the monks which are considered a thing of great merit. Respecting elders is also is a keenly appreciated ritual and the water that is collected after it has been poured on Buddha statues is offered to family members as this is considered fortunate since the water is believed to be blessed.
The theme of the festival is mainly cleansing and the people clean their houses as well, and by washing things they intend to leave behind the bad actions of the previous year. People also visit temples either to listen to dhamma or to offer alms to monks on the first day of celebration as its supposed to be the best day for doing good deeds. Moving away from the religious theme, in the recent years, the water splashing has become the main activity enjoyed by youth who with great enthusiasm parade the streets and splash each other.
While Bangkok is filled with the enthusiastic festive spirit, travelers seeking