Holi On Your Mind Play The Thai Version

Marked as a national holiday in Thailand, Songkran is the Thai New Year that is celebrated on 13th &nbspof April every year. However, as most things go in Thailand, the locals are not ones to shy away from celebrations and hence the holiday period extends to five days (12&ndash16 April). It allows locals to travel home for the holiday but it also gives tourists an opportunity to partake in the festivities.

While the New Year is still formally celebrated on the first day of&nbspJanuary, Songkran was the official New Year up until 1940 after which it became a national holiday, offering an opportunity to uphold traditions and indulge in some merrymaking.

In the event that you do plan to travel to Thailand during this period, the symbolic traditions of this festival may be of interest to you. A festival of unity, wards who have moved away from their families tend to return to their respective homes to greet elders and loved ones as showcasing veneration to ancestors is an essential part of the Songkran custom. Visiting local temples and offering food to monks is also routinely practiced. While arguably the more enjoyable facet that Songkran is renowned for is the splashing of water &ndash with major streets cordoned off and turned into arenas for water fights.

Disclaimer, the old are not differentiated from the young in this regard and anyone and everyone is given the traditional soaking, as crowds armed with water pistols and buckets of water patrol the streets.

Our top tip during Songkran would perhaps be to skip your bath (thereby not only cutting costs on the utility bill front but also saving water) and accept your inevitable fate if you plan to be out and about