Thai New Year 2009 Songkran

The traditional Thai New Year is held from April 12th – 15th , but the water celebrations that the Songkran festival is best known for, start early and finish late!

The traditional Thai New Year, known as Songkran in Thai, is one of the countries biggest and most colorful celebrations. During the three day festival the Thais devote a portion of their time to special religious ceremonies and practices to welcome in the new year, but the main attraction of the Songkran festival are the water celebrations that could only be described as a nationwide water fight.

On the first day, it is traditional for Thais to clean the house in preparation for the coming year. The second day is assigned to preparing food and special meals to be eaten over the coming days. The third day is marked by religious ceremonies which take place early in the morning.

During these ceremonies, monks carrying images of Buddha parade through the streets and are washed with scented water by the public. The water fights originated, simply as a fun way to disperse of the water left over. Another ceremonial practice that has evolved somewhat is the smearing of flour on the face, these days it is not uncommon to be completely covered in flour, but just like the water throwing, it is all done in good spirit.

The official Songkran holiday takes place in April from the 12th to the 15th, however the water celebrations can start early, and last up to a day or two after. This year the official holiday was from Monday 13th to Wednesday 15th, but water celebrations started on Sunday in many popular tourist areas across the country.

Unfortunately, political protests in Bangkok cast a dull atmosphere over the first few days of Songkran. But in true Thai spirit, the government decided to extend the official holiday until Friday 17th, and the water fights continued without incident until Saturday.

SHARE :

TAGS :

Holiday, News, Thailand, Tour, Travel