Thais sure do love a party and the annual calendar is packed with cultural events and festivities, so each month offers at least one colourful experience. The festival that marks the start of the Thai New Year in the month of April is Songkran, the focal holiday of Thai culture. The customary three days of celebrations embrace the rites of spring, family gatherings honouring the elderly, acts of purification, Buddhists rituals, and the now very popular water splashing revelry. It is the time to clean the house and burn the old refuse thus hoping to be rid of all the bad luck of the old year, and start anew with a clean slate.
The word Songkran is derived from the ancient Sanskrit, describing the monthly movement within the zodiac from one sphere to the next. In April the sun leaves the sphere of Aries and enters that of Taurus, a period known as Maha Songkran or the Great Songkran. It is believed that the festival was introduced into Thailand from India where the festival of Holi, which announces the arrival of spring, is still celebrated with the throwing of coloured powder and water. In Southeast Asia water is thrown during the hot season and it has been so well integrated that most of Thailand’s neighbours have their own similar festivals. The purpose of water is manifold, as it is used for cooling, to represent purification, and to invoke the life-giving monsoon rains.
At present the official Thai New Year falls in April, the fifth month of the Thai lunar calendar. At one time this holiday was celebrated by the Tai of Yunan on the first lunar month, December, a more befitting date. It is explained, however, that the cultivation of rice was a major factor in the change, as the Tai originated from China where the harvest took place at a different time from that in tropical Thailand, and subsequently they adopted the sophisticated agricultural system of the Mon-Khmer. Denis Segaller, an author and expert on Thai culture reinforced this idea in his book Thai Ways with his comment that present day Songkran depends on the cycle of rice cultivation, “with the rice harvesting finished, and the planting of the new crop not yet begun,” a time when people can relax. Another possible reason was that the astrological configuration in the April sky was considered more favourable. It is interesting to note that for years Songkran was the official Thai New Year. In 1888 King Chulalongkorn (Rama V) adopted the Thai version of the solar calendar called Suriyakhati, based on the Gregorian calendar, Suriya being the Hindu sun god. In 1941 the government moved the official New Year to January 1 to conform with the majority of other countries.
Originally a lunar holiday, Songkran is now a fixed date on the Thai calendar, and is officially celebrated in most regions in the country from April 13-15. However, in recent years the three days have been stretched out to five and occasionally even more. In Chiang Mai the festival lasts up to a week and is lavishly and recklessly celebrated; a tradition followed by the Mon people in Prapadaeng, in the harbour area of Bangkok. The latter celebrate Songkran one week after the rest of Thailand. In Chiang Mai the Buddha image is taken out on procession, as is the custom in numerous Thai cities and towns, but in a much more elaborate fashion than seen elsewhere—including Bangkok.
Just ahead of the Buddha image is the Songkran Queen, chosen from the beautiful young women of Chiang Mai. She rides a mythical animal, usually the one symbolising the year to come. These animals represent the 12-year cycle of the zodiac introduced into northern Thailand by the migrating Tai from Southern China around the 13th century.
On the eve of Songkran, every home is thoroughly cleaned and old refuse is burned so as not to carry bad luck or anything harmful into the New Year, with hopes of starting everything afresh. Another old tradition is the setting off of firecrackers to frighten away any bad spirits that may lurk about from the old year. Wan Maha Songkran, the first day of the year, falls on April 13, followed by Wan Nao on the 14th and Wan Thaloeng Sok on the 15th. The third day was believed to have been the peak of the hot season when the hours of the day and night were equally divided; this is when the new year begins.
Early in the morning of Songkran Day people pay respects to the monks by bringing offerings of food prepared the previous day. This is customarily a temple ritual that enables the public to acquire merit, an important act in the lives of Thai people that is carried out all year long. In recent years hundreds of monks have gathered at the Pramane (Sanam Luang) ground to receive alms from the public, enabling the many people of Bangkok to carry out this important meritorious act. 
In the early afternoon, Buddha images are taken out of temples for ritual bathing and are sprinkled with lustral water by devotees. A most revered image in Bangkok is the Phra Phuttha Sihing, housed in the National Museum’s Buddhaisawan chapel. The image is taken out to the Pramane ground every year for the public to pay their respects. Before placing the image in the elevated pavilion erected for the purpose, it is carried around the city to allow as many people as possible to receive merit. Once in place, the image is sprinkled by thousands of people who also free birds from their cages and release fish into rivers so as to gain additional merit and good fortune.
The act of purification is also performed on Buddha images in private home shrines, on family elders, and on specially revered monks and village elders who are father figures to their communities. Songkran is a time for family gatherings, when young members bringing gifts visit their elders, pour scented water over the palms of their hands, and receive blessings in return. In the past, these respected elderly relatives were bathed and dressed in new garments bought as gifts for the New Year.
The traditional gentle water sprinkling that takes place within families has escalated into a public event, involving buckets, hoses and pump-action water guns. No one is spared a generous dousing in this mischievous merriment and most people take things in the appropriate spirit. After all. April is the hottest month of the year and an impromptu shower can be most welcome, dress and all. It’s not just about having fun, though; there’s a traditional belief that if one walks around soaking wet, it is a hint to heaven to send down rain, of crucial importance in an economy that is still very much dependent on agriculture.
Today’s version of Songkran as a frenzied three-day water battle is clearly a departure from the traditional festivity. “In the old days Songkran was full of meaning, but today much of the holiday’s spiritual aspect is gone. People just think of having a good time,” says Euayporn Kerdchouay, senior consultant at the Siam Society. It certainly seems to be an attraction for younger tourists, on a par with the notorious Full Moon parties. Khao San Road, a backpackers’ enclave, and more recently Silom Road are two parts of Bangkok that close to traffic for Songkran, and both attract thousands of Thais and foreigners. Somlak Charoenpot, former deputy director general of the Fine Arts Department at the Ministry of Culture explains the reasons for the change in nature of the celebrations: “The concept of Songkran is still the same today as in the past but due to changes in social and economic conditions it became a target for tourism which explains some of the different ways it’s celebrated,” he says.
Also popular at this time of year is the practice of smearing white powder or paste on revellers’ faces. It is one of the oldest Songkran traditions and is believed to protect the recipient, warding off evil; traditionally the paste has to be applied by an older person. This custom grew out of the practice by Buddhist monks who use chalky white powder to bless people, places and items. But maybe things have got out of hand. The Venerable Phra Kantasilo certainly thinks so: “In recent years, the observance of Songkran amongst Thai youth has taken on a particularly sinister mood, hardly resembling the fun and innocent practices of bygone years,” he says. Philip Cornwel-Smith, another expert on Thai culture, is more forgiving of modern youngsters: “The sanuk surplus acts as a social safety valve,” he argues.
For years Songkran has been a time for romantic pursuits. These lively events begin on the afternoon of first day of Songkran when groups of young men and women play old courting games believed to be a vestige of an ancient culture and referred to by some scholars as mating games. One such game still widely played in Thailand today is saba. Generally girls of one village play with boys from another village. They sit opposite each other in a small, enclosed arena and take turns in carrying a flat, rounded piece of wood on one foot while hopping on the other. The object of the game is to knock down a similar piece of wood, perched on its side in front of a person of the opposite sex. Both success and failure elicit further flirting and teasing.
Songkran serves a multitude of religious and social functions. Its festivals are celebrated with great zeal, including parades, carnivals and beauty contests, while music blares and great quantities of food and rice liquor are consumed. In some villages, on the first afternoon, a Nang Songkran or Miss Songkran is chosen to reign over the festival. She is led in procession seated on an animal figure representing the day of the week on which Wan Songkran falls that year. There are seven such beasts. The garuda, for example, stands for Sunday while a tiger is for Monday. These figures derive from an ancient Hindu legend telling of a god who had lost a bet and in the process also his head. His seven daughters ensured that his memory lived on by parading the head once a year. This procession still continues as part of the Songkran festival; the severed head, however, has been replaced by the seven creatures, each corresponding to one of the daughters.
A tradition practised on the second day of Songkran is the building of sand chedi. Although predominantly a northern custom, these have become a popular form of devotion in many regions of Thailand. The sacred structure symbolises the place where the Buddha’s ashes were kept. Wealthy people often add new structures to a temple compound usually in the form of a chedi. The poor emulate this meritorious act by constructing a representation of a chedi, a small one made of sand, in a designated area of the temple. Small items such as coins, bodhi leaves and Buddha images are placed in the core of the sand chedi. These tiny structures are decorated with colourful flags, topped by candles, incense sticks, and flowers. The completed sand chedi are sprinkled with scented water and some temples award prizes to the most beautiful ones. This custom is also a symbolic replacement of the sand that may have clung to devotees’ shoes and inadvertently carried out of the temple.
The Songkran festival goes on for several days, a welcome respite from work and daily routines, and a temporary diversion from the seasonal heat. A dish often served in central Thailand at this time is khao chae, a Mon dish of cooked rice soaked in aromatic cold water surrounded by a wide array of condiments and nibbles. In the north of Thailand, glutinous rice cakes are the traditional fare.
The water festival is not unique to Thailand although the Thai celebrations are known worldwide. In Asia both Buddhists and Hindus enjoy water festivities. Myanmar celebrates Thingyan, Laos has Songkran or Boun Pi Mai, and Cambodia observes Chaul Chnam Thmey literally meaning to enter the new year, all celebrated like Songkran in Thailand with similar traditions and practices, as well as the mythical tales that accompany this holiday. In Sri Lanka the holiday is called Aluth Avurudda while in Tamil Nadu it is Puthandu, Bohag Bihu in Assam, and in Orissa Pana Sankranti also known as Mesha Sankranti. In South India, especially in Karnataka, a festival called Okhali or Okhli is celebrated. People there keep a barrel of water in their home mixed with chalk and turmeric which they throw on others. Bengali New Year includes east India and Bangladesh and is known as Pohela Boishakh. Here there’s less emphasis on water but the lively parades are reminiscent of those in Thailand, only more colourful. Holi, a Hindu water and colour festival, is celebrated in India about a month before these other water festivals, all of which fall on April 14. And it’s not just Asia. Hungary has a traditional event in which people—especially women—get soaked, while Easter celebrations in Poland, Slovakia and parts of the Czech Republic involve splashing people with water.
Fortunately, beneath the raucous fun of Songkran the cultural core remains. It is almost a given that young people will return home on this landmark holiday to pay respects to their elders. As Bangkok is the hub of employment for thousands of upcountry people, particularly for those from Isan, a great exodus is to be expected as the holiday nears. No matter the fashion in which Songkran will be celebrated, it remains a cornerstone of Thai culture
