New Year celebrations involve a nation-wide water battle, with people fleeing from their captors. No one, adults or children, is spared. The streets are filled with water. Fun way to celebrate the New Year, right? And that’s how people in Thailand celebrate theirs.
The Songkran festival is celebrated in Thailand from April 13 to 15 as the traditional New Year. It is Thailand’s longest holiday and originated in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand.
According to history, Indian Brahmins are said to have introduced this tradition and is now considered the traditional Thai New Year’s Day or Wan Payawan. The festival is rich with symbolic traditions. The mornings start off with people visiting temples and offering food to Buddhist monks. The most important tradition is pouring water of the statue of the Buddha — it represents purification and washing away bad luck. The festival is also a time when people return to their homes and families.
The Songkran procession is held in Chiang Mai. Images of the Buddha and his attendants are taken on floats, accompanied by minstrels and the public. The procession begins at Nawarat Bridge, near the Mae Ping River, and moves to the Thapae Gate before approaching its final destination, Wat Prasingh. Once this is done, the fun begins. Most streets are closed to traffic as water fights take place. And not just among people, but among animals too — elephants spraying people with water is a common sight! Vehicles are adorned with traditional decorations. People dress up in traditional clothes and show off their best, and a beauty pageant, ‘Miss Songkran’ is held.
In northeastern parts of India, Songkran is celebrated as Sangken, as the traditional New Year's Day by the Buddhist Community. This festival is celebrated by the Khampti tribe, Singpho, Khamyang, Tikhaks (Tangsa) and Arunachal Pradesh’s Phakyal community and Assam’s Tai Phake community. Sangken generally falls in the month of Naun Ha , the fifth month of the year of the Khampti Lunar calendar which coincides with April. It is celebrated in the last days of the old year and the Lunar New Year begins on the day just after the end of the festival.
