Songkran in Thailand: A Water Festival to Remember By Adam Klann
The first time I was in Bangkok for the month of April, I noticed how blazingly hot and humid it had become. Summer had already begun, seemingly earlier than I was accustomed to. As the days passed, everyone started discussing the upcoming Songkran holiday. “Are you going anywhere for Songkran? No? Make sure to wear something that can get wet when you go outside!” I laughed it off until I saw it for myself walking down the street: people accumulating in groups, kitted out with bright flower print shirts and white clay paste on their faces, leading attack squads on unsuspecting passersby. No one was safe. People getting their groceries would get sabotaged by a young kid with a squirt gun that appeared out of nowhere; drive-by trucks that held large barrels of ice water would festoon a lawyer in their complete business suit with a hearty helping of frozen refreshment. For the most part, after their initial shock, each of the ‘victims’ would just turn around and give a big smile and wave. That’s the Thai way! It can only happen during Songkran, also known as the Thai New Year. It is one of Thailand's most vibrant and widely celebrated festivals. Derived from the Sanskrit word Sankranti, it signifies the astrological passage of the sun from one sign of the zodiac to another, marking a New Year in the Thai Buddhist calendar. This mid-April holiday marks the end of the dry season and the
beginning of the rainy season in Thailand. It celebrates the transition from the old to the new and is a time for renewal, both spiritually and physically.
The Water Festival From its smaller and more modest beginnings, Songkran has evolved into a nationwide water fight where people from all walks of life come together to splash water on each other in the streets. The act of pouring or spraying water is a fun and refreshing way to beat that scorching April heat and carries a deep symbolic meaning with it.
46 LIVING IN SINGAPORE
