A festival that brings people together

Just a quick, random post. I saw a nice article about the Thai New Year Festival, Songkran. This'll be a nice piece for those who want to get to know Thailand a little better. (I believe that the article was written by a filipino person.)

Text and photos by Marbee Shing-Go

The Big Wet spares no one.
Strange as it may seem to us, Thailand’s traditional new year festivities, the Songkran, is celebrated every summer, between April 13 and 15, during three of the hottest days of the year. The traditional pouring of water on the Buddha image is a tradition observed during Songkran.


First, a little history. Though the Thai government officially changed the celebration of the new year to January 1 in 1941, April 15 still represents the start of the traditional new year to many Thais. No, the Thais are not crazy to choose the hottest days of summer to celebrate a cool and breezy year ahead—it’s actually the perfect time, as the Songkran is celebrated by the sprinkling of water—either tamely, by cleansing Buddha images with scented water from silver bowls (a ritual known as Wan Payawan), or wildly, by splashing everyone and anyone with cool water from water guns, pails, or garden hoses. During the Songkran, I was told, no one is spared a washing.


Similar to the Philippine celebration of the new year on January 1, which typically involves having media noche with the family, launching fireworks, and praying together for a peaceful year ahead, or the Feast of St. John the Baptist in San Juan on June 24, where passers-by are also splashed with water, the Songkran’s symbolic use of water during its three-day festival has religious significance in origin and celebration.


According to Thai tradition, water is considered both a symbol of cleansing and of renewal. Therefore, the Songkran is a time of purification, of rituals dedicated to Buddha and departed ancestors, of tribute and respect towards the elderly, and of blessings for the year ahead. Although the traditional practice of the Songkran involves younger people using silver bowls to pour jasmine-scented water down the back or shoulder of an older person or over a Buddha image while chanting words of blessing for the new year, recent years have seen a more wildly festive Songkran celebration with people taking water splashing to heart. These days, it’s water guns, pails, and garden hoses. And should you find yourself unarmed, vendors can be found all over the streets selling bottles and plastic bags of jasmine water, drinking water, tap water, and just about any type of water. During the Songkran, no water is spared.


To prepare for our group’s Songkran experience in Chiang Mai, popularly known as the Rose of the North and where the Songkran is both wildly (with major water splashing) and seriously (while pouring water, Thais of Chiang Mai utter good wishes and words of blessing) practiced, I made sure I had everything I could possibly need. Camera with lens wrapped tightly in several layers of cling wrap to avoid water damage? Check. Tried-and-tested-for-running pair of Havaianas? Check. Photographer Noah Manarang in wet-suit top—and water gun? Check.


Having armed ourselves with our gear, Noah and I set out to experience the Songkran festival in all its glory. The first thing on the agenda was to experience the festival parade, one of the highlights of the Songkran celebration in Chiang Mai. During the parade, floats representing different Buddhist organizations, schools, sectors, and groups are greeted by people of all colors, sizes, and shapes in the streets with more water splashing.


I look around and see this foreigner by the jasmine water booth, excitedly refilling water into his giant toy gun. "Hello! Where are you from?" I ask him. Whoosh! He shoots me with water from his freshly refilled water gun and answers, "Gotcha! I’m from New Zealand. Gotta go!" In less than 15 seconds, he’s gone, faster than a TV commercial, and way too late for me to retaliate. Looking up, I see him run towards the closest float and shoot more water at the people on top of it. Within seconds, they’re no drier than I am.


The Tourism Authority of Thailand estimates some 150,000 tourists visit Chiang Mai each year to enjoy the Songkran. Scores of foreigners fill the streets of Chiang Mai, heedless of the scorching sun or the water attacks. Enveloped by such a frenzied atmosphere, everyone on the street, normally separated by race, age, or religion and, essentially, strangers to each other, become friends for this special occasion. As I look around me, I see everyone having the time of their lives—running, spraying, chanting, giving blessings, and receiving blessings in kind. During the Songkran, blessings, along with water, abound freely regardless of who you are. You just have to be on the streets.


Four hours after our initial venture onto the streets, Noah and I re-emerge, soaked, drenched, and tired, but happily running away from the Thai with a water hose, pleading to him, "Please, please, spare us…" But it’s the Songkran, after all—one of Thailand’s most fervent and festive celebrations, and so, of course, we are not spared.


As my friend Noah and I take a few minutes off from splashing anyone (we gave as good as we got) and stand at the side of the road watching the revelers splash water onto one another, I feel icy sharp water hitting me and trickling down the back of my neck. I turn around to see a grinning local saying "Sawasdee Pi Mai!" (translated to English, this means "Happy New Year!"). "Sawasdee Pi Mai!" I answer back, smiling, inwardly glad that I haven’t been spared from the Songkran’s great washing and welcoming the cool feel of water running down my warm back.


Whether it represents a mere day of revelry, to cut loose and play like a kid, or the opportunity to undertake our own personal cleansing of sorts, the Songkran is a refreshing respite to people who gather from all places to celebrate it. Despite the differences in meaning, everyone who witnesses the Songkran, witnesses a cleansing of themselves. What a welcome treat for the skin and the soul—especially during one of the hottest days in summer