Songkran, the New Year & Water Festival

Thai Culture Spotlight : Songkran, the New Year & Water Festival Songkran is the celebration of Thai traditional New Year, and an occasion for family reunions and celebrations. At this time, people from rural areas who work in the capital usually return home to celebrate the festival. Very often, the streets of Bangkok are empty during Songkran, but this is not the case in Chiang Mai. Although several days before and after are dedicated to relaxation, the actual holiday falls on April 13, when annual festivities are held throughout the kingdom. “Songkran” means to “move” or “change place” in Thai, as it is the day when the sun changes position in the zodiac. It is also known as the “Water Festival”, as people believe that water is an agent for washing away bad luck. This Thai traditional New Year begins with early morning merit-making, offering food to Buddhist monks and releasing caged birds to fly freely into the sky. During this auspicious occasion, many caged animals will also be set free. Praying to the ancestor spirits is also an important part of the day. People also show respect to elders by pouring scented water (nap op Thai) over the palms of their hands. Older people, in return, wish the youngsters good luck and prosperity. In the afternoon, after performing a bathing rite for Buddha images and for the monks, all participants, young and old, playfully splash water all over each other. In Bangkok, the Buddha image “Buddhasihing” is brought out from the National Museum so people can sprinkle holy water at Sanam Luang, opposite the Grand Palace. The most talked-about regional celebration takes place in Chiang Mai, where Songkran is celebrated from April 13-15. During this period, people from all parts of the country flock there to enjoy the water festival, to watch the Miss Songkran contest, to view and participate in the beautiful parades, and to throw water on anyone you might happen to see in the streets. - Adapted from Essays on Thailand, by Thanapol Chahchaidee. All Rights Reserved .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Lowland Festivities in a Highland Society: Songkran in the Palaung Village of Pang Daeng Nai, Thailand1
➔CMU. Journal (2005) Vol. 4(1) 71 Lowland Festivities in a Highland Society: Songkran in the Palaung Village of Pang Daeng Nai, Thailand1 Sean Ashley* Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, British Columbia, Canada *Corresponding author E-mail: [email protected] ABSTRACT In this article, I examine the celebration of Songkran in the Palaung village of Pang Daeng Nai in northern Thailand. The Palaung, a Mon-Khmer speaking people from Burma, have a long tradition of Theravada Buddhism which can be seen in a number of rituals and ceremonies associated with Songkran. While the Palaung have acquired both Buddhism and the Songkran festival from neighboring lowland populations, many practices and beliefs have taken on a local character in the process of transmission. In my paper, I discuss the similarities and differences between Palaung and lowland Tai Songkran ritual observances, particularly with regards to the annual song krau ceremony, a village-wide exorcism/blessing which coincides with the festival. Key words: Songkran festival, Song krau ceremony, Buddhism INTRODUCTION “True ‘Hill People’ are never Buddhists” (Leach, 1960). So wrote Edmund Leach in a paper describing the differences between highland minority groups in Burma and their lowland Tai2 and Burmese neighbors. This understanding of highlander culture is widespread and most studies on highland religion use Buddhism simply as grounds for comparison or ignore its influence on highland traditions altogether. In fact, both highlanders and lowlanders share an “animistic” worldview (Spiro, 1967; Terweil, 1994), but it is not my intention to deny that Theravada Buddhism, a ubiquitous facet of life in the lowlands, is largely absent from highland cultures.
[Show full text]
UNHCR Duty Station Directory Switzerland - Geneva SWIGE
UNHCR Duty Station Directory Switzerland - Geneva SWIGE Headquarters City: Geneva Code: SWIGE Telephone: + 41 22 739 8111 (GENERAL) Fax: + 41 22 739 7377 (TELECOMMS) + 41 22 739 7306 (SUPPLY+TRANSP.) + 41 22 739 7315 (PUBLIC INF.) + 41 22 739 7334 (MEDICAL SERVICE) Cable Address: HICOMREF Geneva Telex: 415740 HCR CH Mail Address: Case Postale 2500 1211, Genève 2 Dépôt Street Address: 94 Rue Montbrillant 1202, Geneva Working Hours: Monday to Friday 8:30-17:30 (Lunch 1 hour) Local Time: Summer: Summer GMT +2.00 Hours/Minutes Winter: Winter GMT +1.00 Hour/Minutes Notes: **OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS IN 2007** 2 Afghanistan - Kabul AFGKA Branch Office City: Kabul Code: AFGKA Telephone: + 41 22 739 7500 (VIA HQ VSAT LINK) + 93 20 220 0381 + 93 20 220 0382 + SATPHONE + 870 762 929 180 + MOBILE PHONE + 93 700 279 158 Fax: + 41 22 739 7501 (VIA HQ VSAT LINK) + SATFAX + 870 762 929 180 (RADIO ROOM) Cable Address: HICOMREF KABUL Mail Address: P.O. Box 3232 ***POUCH STILL VIA LO-OFFICE FOR UNHCR REPRESENTATION AFGHANISTAN IN ISLAMABAD*** Kabul Street Address: 41,Jadi Solh (Peace Avenue) Shar-e-Naw Kabul Working Hours: Sunday to Thursday 7:45-16:15 Local Time: Summer: Summer GMT +4.30 Hours/Minutes Winter: Winter GMT +4.30 Hours/Minutes Style Of Address: The UNHCR Representative in Afghanistan Footnotes: The opening date of the office: 08/1992 **OFFICIAL HOLIDAYS IN 2009** 01 January New Year's Day 06 January Tenth of Moharam 08 March Prophet's Birthday 19 March Nawrooz 28 April Mujahideen's Victory Day 19 August Independence Day 20 September Eid-I-Fitr 26 November Eid-ul-Qurban 29 November Eid-ul-Qurban 24December Christmas Day Notes: UNHCR LO-Office for UNHCR Representation Afghanistan (IN ISLAMABAD) Mail address: P.O.
[Show full text]
Dual Edition
YEARS # 1 Indian American Weekly : Since 2006 VOL 15 ISSUE 15 ● NEW YORK / DALLAS ● APR 09 - APR 15, 2021 ● ENQUIRIES: 646-247-9458 ● [email protected] www.theindianpanorama.news OPEN LETTER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN U.S. imposes new sanctions on Russia Attorney Ravi Batra Expels 10 Russian Page 9 diplomats, restricts trading and blacklists 32 individuals India's worries grow as over 'election meddling, Coronavirus cases mount cyberattack' to cross 200,000 on a WASHINGTON (TIP): A reminder of single day the cold war period, the United States announced sanctions against Russia on ● India registered 2,16,642 new Thursday, April 15, and the expulsion of COVID-19 cases as of 11.15 p.m. IST 10 diplomats in retaliation for what on April 15. As many as 1,153 Washington says is the Kremlin's U.S. deaths were also recorded on the election interference, a massive day. cyberattack and other hostile activity. ● Country adds more than 1,100 President Joe Biden ordered a deaths; Maharashtra leads with widening of restrictions on U.S. banks 61,695 cases, followed by U.P. trading in Russian government debt, In a tough and decisive action, President Biden signed an executive order to impose new ● Country has so far reported a total CONTD ON PAGE 7 sanctions on Russia - File photo of 1,42,87,740 cases and 1,74,306 deaths. President Joe Biden greets Indian Americans and Sikhs on Vaisakhi WASHINGTON (TIP): US President Biden and the US first lady were joined Joe Biden led his country in greeting by several lawmakers in greeting Indian- Indian Americans, South Asians and Americans and Sikhs on the occasion of Southeast Asians on the eve of their New Baisakhi.
[Show full text]
A Comparison of Buddhist Music and Dance Between Ancient Cambodian and Yunnan Minority Peoples After Reading the Customs of Cambodia
A Comparison of Buddhist Music and Dance Between Ancient Cambodian and Yunnan Minority Peoples After Reading The Customs of Cambodia Yang Minkang (Music Research Institute, The Central Conservatory of Music, Beijing) [Summary] Over 700 years ago, The Customs of Cambodia was written by Zhou Daguan. It provided a detailed, reliable record and description of the Buddhist culture of Chenla, describing the Buddhist sects, characteristics of temples, Theravada rituals, ritual music activities, and related folklore activities. Compared with the music of some Yunnan ethnic groups that believe in Theravada, such as Dai, Blang, De’ang, etc, they all have some common features. In the vast sea of Chinese historical records, this is another important historical document that records ceremonies and ritual music and dance in detail after the Pyu Music.1 It helps us to understand the ins and outs of Theravada music and dance culture in China today, it also sheds light on the research of Theravada’s cultural history in Southeast Asia. [Keywords] The Customs of Cambodia, Dai Minority, Blang Minority, Theravada, Ritual music. [Chinese Library Classification] J607， J608, J609.2 [Document Code] A [Article ID] 1008－9667（2009）03－0027－08 During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Chenla which was a vassal state of Funan, began to rise. Its original territories included today's northern Cambodia and southern Laos. Around the mid-6th century, A.D, Chenla annexed the eastern border area of Funan and gradually became stronger. In the 7th century, it eventually replaced Funan and became the most powerful Indianized countries in Southeast Asia. During the Song2 and Yuan3 dynasties, this country that once belonged to Funan grew stronger.
[Show full text]
A Case Study for Development of Tradition and Culture of Myanmar People Based on Some Myanmar Traditional Festivals
A Case Study for Development of Tradition and Culture of Myanmar People Based on some Myanmar Traditional Festivals Aye Pa Pa Myo* [email protected] Assistant Lecturer, Department of English, Yangon University of Education, Myanmar Abstract It is generally said that Myanmar is a beautiful country situated on the land of Southeast Asia and it is also a land of traditional festivals which has the collection of tradition and culture. This paper has an attempt to observe the development of tradition and culture of Myanmar People based on some Myanmar Traditional Festivals. The research was done with analytical approach. It took three months. self-observation, questionnaires, taking photos, and interviewing were used as the research tools. Data were analyzed with the qualitative and quantitative methods. In accordance with the findings, it can be clearly seen that the majority of Myanmar enjoy maintaining and admiring their tradition and culture, assisting others as much as they can, hospitalizing the others, particularly, foreigners. Their inspiration can influence the tourists, as well as Myanmar Traditional Festivals can reveal the lovely and beautiful Myanmar Tradition and Culture. Therefore, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar can be called the Land of Culture to the great extent. In brief, the findings from the research will support to further research related to observing dynamic development of Aspects of Myanmar. Key Terms- tradition and culture Introduction Our Country, the Republic of the Union of Myanmar situated on the Indochina Peninsula in South East Asia is well-known as “the Golden Land” because of its glittering pagodas, vast tract of timber forests, huge mineral resources, wonderful historical sites and monuments and the hospitality of Myanmar People.
[Show full text]
Dramatizing Water: Performance, Anthropology, and the Transnational
Dramatizing Water: Performance, Anthropology, and the Transnational Kanta Kochhar-Lindgren, University of Washington, Bothell Place: Athipatti, a fictional South Indian village Vellaisamy: Can I trouble you for a little water? .. Vellaisamy: Why do you laugh when I ask you for water? Kovalu: To ask a man for his wife is not a sin in this village. But to ask him for water is a great sin. Thaneer Thaneer (Water!) Komal Swaminathan Abstract “Dramatizing Water: Performance, Anthropology, and the Transnational” investigates how “dramatizing water” can act as a constellation that links the basic substance of life to translocal performances across a continuum that spans water in everyday life, in ritual, and as it appears on a formalized stage. A brief genealogy of examples is developed across the everyday and ritual, but the primary focus in on the late Tamil playwright Komal Swaminathan’s 1980 Thaneer Thaneer (Water!) and its relevance as a prototype for political drama on water. There is currently a profound global crisis around water distribution and “dramatizing water” indexes an attempt to chart the possibilities of moving toward a differently configured space for our water-practices, toward an alternative and more sustainable performative cartography of water. “Dramatizing water” is a constellation that links the basic substance of life to translocal performances across a continuum that spans water in everyday life, in ritual, and as it appears on a formalized stage. Although “dramatizing” does indicate a process of “preparing for the stage,” it also encompasses the fundamental senses of “acting,” “doing,” or “working.” “Water” derives from two Proto Indo-European roots: ap (preserved in the Sanskrit apah, or animate) refers to water as a living force and wed, an inanimate substance.
[Show full text]
Discovering the Intercultural and Citizenship Calendar 2021-2022
DISCOVERING THE INTERCULTURAL AND CITIZENSHIP CALENDAR 2021-2022 Coordination and content Direction de l’intégration linguistique et de l’éducation interculturelle Réseau éducatif anglophone, relations interculturelles et Autochtones Title of original document: À la découverte du Calendrier interculturel et citoyen 2021-2022 For additional information, contact: General Information Ministère de l’Éducation 1035, rue De La Chevrotière, 21e étage Québec (Québec) G1R 5A5 Telephone: 418-643-7095 Toll-free: 1-866-747-6626 An electronic version of this document is available on the Ministère’s Web site at: education.gouv.qc.ca © Gouvernement du Québec ISBN 978-2-550-89567-1 (PDF) ISBN 978-2-550-89565-7 (French, PDF) Legal Deposit – Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, 2021 21-063-03A-2 Table des matières Introduction 2 Additional information 3 Comments on celebrations whose date varies from year to year and on the different calendars in use around the world 4 The New Year according to different calendars 5 2021-2022 School Year 5 Celebrations and commemorations in the intercultural and citizenship calendar 2021-2022 6 July 6 August 9 September 11 October 14 November 18 December 22 January 25 February 26 March 31 April 36 May 41 June 45 DISCOVERING THE INTERCULTURAL AND CITIZENSHIP CALENDAR 2021-2022 Introduction The Intercultural and Citizenship Calendar produced by the Direction de l’intégration linguistique et de l’éducation interculturelle (DILEI) presents a variety of religious celebrations, as well as Québec, Canadian and international historical and cultural celebrations. The calendar makes no claim to be exhaustive. It covers the whole year and is updated every year as the dates of some celebrations vary from year to year (see below Comments on celebrations whose date varies from year to year, and on the different calendars in use around the world).
[Show full text]
(Songkran): Komodifikasi Budaya Di Thailand
ISSN 2622-6952 FESTIVAL AIR (SONGKRAN): KOMODIFIKASI BUDAYA DI THAILAND Nikodemus Niko, Atem Program Pascasarjana Sosiologi, Fakultas Ilmu Sosial dan Ilmu Politik, Universitas Padjadjaran [email protected] Abstract This research aims to want to see the occurred on the discourse of cultural commodification of Songkran in Thailand. Songkran in Thailand is a religious and cultural festival, which is the celebration of New Year in Thailand. Culture of Songkran festival which then becomes bringing many foreign tourists come to some areas in Thailand like Bangkok, Chiang Mai and Phuket. This great Festival and then give effect to social, cultural as well as the economy on local community. The methods used in this study is a qualitative descriptive based on the experiences both of the author. The data analyzed i.e. secondary data that comes from a variety of scientific journals, then the primary data are analyzed based on the author’s experience when on the Songkran festival in Thailand on April, 2019. Based on the analysis that the commodification of culture happens to Songkran in Thailand is not so much to erode the authenticity of rituals. This means that the core rituals such as bathing the Buddha statues in the temples still do. Commodification is a positive impact on the local community, where on area of the festival they provided tubs for sale in range 5 THB to 15 THB. Then, foreign tourists are pouring in from various countries are also effect on the local community economy. Keywords: commodification, Songkran Festival, culture Abstrak Penelitian ini bertujuan ingin melihat wacana komodifikasi yang terjadi pada budaya Songkran di Thailand.
[Show full text]
The Inclusion Calendar 2021
THE INCLUSION CALENDAR 2021 diversiton it’s all about inclusion The Inclusion Calendar 2021 January Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Special Days 2021 “These so-called bleak Week 1 1 2 3 times are necessary to go through in order to get 1st Mary, Mother of God – Catholic to a much, much better Christian Gantan-sai (New Year) – Shinto place.” David Lynch Bank Holiday – England, Wales, Week 2 Scotland, Northern Ireland and 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Republic of Ireland New Year’s Day/Hogmanay Global Family Day 4th World Braille Day Bank Holiday – Scotland 5th Twelfth Night – Christian 6th Epiphany – Christian Week 3 Feast of the Theophany – Orthodox 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 Christian In this year’s calendar 7th Feast of the Nativity – Orthodox we continue our inclusion Christian theme but cannot disregard 10th Baptism of the Lord Jesus – Christian 11th Seijin no hi (Coming of Age Day) the immense impact the – Shinto coronavirus has had right Week 4 13th Lohri/Maghi – Hindu, Sikh across the entire World. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 14th Old New Year – Orthodox Christian Coronavirus does not Makar Sankranti – Hindu discriminate; anyone can get Pongal – Hindu the virus. 17th World Religion Day During this challenging time, 18th Martin Luther King Jnr. Day people are coming together 18–25 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 19th Timkat – Ethiopian Orthodox Christian and are supporting one Week 5 20th Birthday of Guru Gobind Singh – Sikh another. We are showing 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 25th Robert Burns Night (Burns Night) that, even in some of the Conversion of Saint Paul – Christian most difficult and tough 27th Holocaust Memorial Day times, we can all choose to 28th Data Privacy Day be kind.
[Show full text]
Multicultural Calendar
2021 Multicultural Calendar Multicultural Calendar The rich diversity in our communities is reflected in the observances celebrated by various cultures and populations. National PTA has created this Multicultural Calendar to highlight and celebrate the diversity in our PTA and school communities. If you want to learn more about these holidays, we encourage you to visit the links provided in the calendar. You can also visit the following websites to explore the various resources used to compose this 2021 PTA Multicultural Calendar. Webster University, Holidays Observance Guide: https://libguides.webster.edu/c.php?g=98058&p=6623030 Anti-Defamation League, Calendar of Observances: https://www.adl.org/media/14060/download Diversity Resources, Diversity Calendar: https://www.diversityresources.com/2020-diversity- calendar/ Truckee Meadows Community College, Diversity Awareness Calendar: https://www.tmcc.edu/diversity/awareness-calendar 2021 Multicultural Calendar Key *United States Federal Holiday JANUARY 2021 DAY EVENT CULTURE LEARN MORE All Month Poverty Awareness United States Poverty Month Awareness Month 1 New Year’s Day* International New Year 6 Epiphany Christian Epiphany 7 Orthodox Christmas Orthodox Orthodox Day Christmas Day 8 Bodhi Day Buddhist Bodhi Day 14 Orthodox New Year Orthodox Orthodox New Year 17 World Religion Day Bahá'í World Religion Day 18 Martin Luther King Jr. United States Martin Luther Day* King Jr. Day 27-28 Tu b'shevat Jewish Tu BiShvat 28 Mahayana New Year Buddist Mahayana New Year 2021 Multicultural Calendar
[Show full text]
Teacher's Supplement
Teacher’s Supplement MAGAZINE ARTICLES New Year’s Celebrations Through the Ages 8 Expository Non-fiction 1260L Ringing in the New Year with Red Underwear 12 Expository Nonfiction 1130L Hog Wild for Hogmany 14 Expository Nonfiction 1030L New Year’s Eve New York City Style 28 Expository Nonfiction 1060L The Oldest New Year’s Party: Celebrating Nayrouz 22 Expository Nonfiction 1110L Songkran 26 Expository Nonfiction 970L Rosh Hashanah: The Jewish New Year 30 First Person Narrative Nonfiction 950L Hijri: The Islamic New Year 36 Expository Nonfiction 1190L Holiday of Hope 38 Expository Nonfiction 870L The Chinese Zodiac 42 Expository Nonfiction 960L FACES: Happy New Year Around the World © January 2016 Contents Teachers’ Guide for FACES: Happy OVERVIEW New Year Around the World In this magazine, readers will learn Using This Guide 2 how people around the world Common Core: Reading, Speaking ring in the New & Listening, and Writing 3 Year. Happy New Year Around the World includes Article Pages 4 information about the history, customs, and traditions surrounding New Year’s celebrations from Cross Text Connections China to New York City. with Multiple Articles 14 Mini-Unit 15 Printables 18 ESSENTIAL QUESTION: Glossary 21 How do New Year celebrations differ amongst people, places, and cultures and what recurring themes unite them? Online Resources 23 1 FACES: Happy New Year Around the World © January 2016 Using this Guide We invite you to use this magazine as a flexible teaching tool, which is ideal for interdisciplinary learning of social studies
[Show full text]
Pdf Kolkata, India
An Online Open Access Journal ISSN 0975-2935 www.rupkatha.com Volume V, Number 2, 2013 Special Issue on Performance Studies Chief Editor Tirtha Prasad mukhopadhyay Editor Tarun Tapas Mukherjee Indexing and abstracting Rupkatha Journal is an international journal recognized by a number of organizations and institutions. It is archived permanently by www.archive-it.org and indexed by EBSCO, Elsevier, MLA International Directory, Ulrichs Web, DOAJ, Google Scholar and other organisations and included in many university libraries Additional services and information can be found at: About Us: www.rupkatha.com/about.php Editorial Board: www.rupkatha.com/editorialboard.php Archive: www.rupkatha.com/archive.php Submission Guidelines: www.rupkatha.com/submissionguidelines.php Call for Papers: www.rupkatha.com/callforpapers.php Email Alerts: www.rupkatha.com/freesubscription.php Contact Us: www.rupkatha.com/contactus.php © Rupkatha Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities Dramatizing Water: Performance, Anthropology, and the Transnational Kanta Kochhar-Lindgren, University of Washington, Bothell Place: Athipatti, a fictional South Indian village Vellaisamy: Can I trouble you for a little water? .. Vellaisamy: Why do you laugh when I ask you for water? Kovalu: To ask a man for his wife is not a sin in this village. But to ask him for water is a great sin. Thaneer Thaneer (Water!) Komal Swaminathan Abstract “Dramatizing Water: Performance, Anthropology, and the Transnational” investigates how “dramatizing water” can act as a constellation that links the basic substance of life to translocal performances across a continuum that spans water in everyday life, in ritual, and as it appears on a formalized stage. A brief genealogy of examples is developed across the everyday and ritual, but the primary focus in on the late Tamil playwright Komal Swaminathan’s 1980 Thaneer Thaneer (Water!) and its relevance as a prototype for political drama on water.
[Show full text]