Songkran, also known as the Water Festival, took place in a jubilant atmosphere in Thailand when people across the country temporarily put aside their worries and arguments to welcome the New Year and wish each other good luck.
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A tourist enjoys the Songkran festival at Central World.
Although they do not hold ancestral worship, on this occasion, Thai people often go to the temple to perform the Buddha bathing ceremony to pray for the best things in the New Year. According to legend, Songkran means moving, representing the Sun moving from the Zodiac region to the Taurus region in the universe, people celebrate Buddha's birthday by spraying water on each other to wash away all worries and sadness.
Some localities in Northern Thailand still maintain traditional customs, in which on the first day of the New Year (April 13), people bring fruits and vegetarian dishes to offer to monks, go to the temple to attend the Buddha bathing ceremony and then return home to wish their grandparents and parents a long life.
This year, Thai people have an extra day off, so Songkran will last until April 16. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has returned to her hometown in Chiang Mai to celebrate the New Year with her family, while protest leader Suthep Thaugsuban celebrated the New Year with his supporters at their campsite.
This year, the Tourism Authority of Thailand has coordinated with localities to organize many Songkran festivals to stimulate tourism and spending of local people as well as foreign tourists. In Bangkok, Songkran is still held in familiar areas such as Central World shopping mall, Silom or the area with a large concentration of foreign tourists on Khao San Road.
Mr. Thanachot Peerkad said: "I came here to participate in the festival organized by the Government to witness the modern New Year activities and felt very wonderful. April in Thailand is one of the hottest months of the year and people need water to relieve the hot atmosphere. In the past, in history, Songkran was a day for family reunion. Everyone, no matter where they worked, tried to return home to meet each other and perform a water-splashing ceremony to bless the elderly, hoping for good luck. This was also an opportunity for them to wash away all the mistakes they made during the year to enter the new year more peacefully. Nowadays, these activities are not as common, but the Songkran festival here still makes me feel very interesting because everyone is friends, very peaceful and friendly."
In front of the Central World shopping mall, people divided into two areas for people going out to celebrate Tet to choose and participate. Visitors can join the water splashing festival or join the water shooting festival with water guns. Along Silom Street, where shops are concentrated, almost like Hang Ngang and Hang Dao in Hanoi, shop owners put out buckets of water in front of their doors and ask permission to splash water on passersby to wish them luck. In the Khao San area, the festival atmosphere is taking place jubilantly. People use water guns, buckets, basins and even taps to spray each other. These are truly relaxing moments, showing the spirit of friendship without borders. This is also a symbol of luck and happiness spreading everywhere.
A tourist from Africa said: "It was a really wonderful day. We are so happy that this festival will continue for the next few days. You can see that there is a friendly atmosphere here. There are six of us who came here for a tour and we really experienced the most unexpected things. We hope to be here again next year for Songkran... We love this festival and we love Thailand."
