If you were to visit Thailand in April on any given year you would be swiftly greeted by:
1. The smiles and the Wais of a wonderful people.
Leonardo Dicaprio succesfully giving “the Wai”
2. Heat. Lots of Heat. April is the hottest month of the Thai year. It (usually) doesn’t rain more than a few drops between March to May.
3. The biggest waterfight you’ve ever seen.
It’s called Songkran. The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. People roam the streets with bowls of water, water guns or even a garden hose, and drench each other and passersby. This, however, is not the heart of this festival. Not many people, even the new generation of Thais, realize that Thai ancestors started this festival to teach their descendants some important things. This festival teaches people to come home to visit their parents, pay respect to them, and usually bring them a small gift. This is the time that children show them that they recognize their parents’ favor. People also visit their older neighbors to keep the good relationships and to pay respect to the elders around the neighborhood. For these reasons Songkran days are also considered the family days and the elderly days.
People go to a wat to pray and give food to monks. They also clean Buddha images in temples with water and gentle Thai perfume, as it is believed that this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year. People carry handfuls of sand to their temple to in order to recompense the dirt that they carry away on their feet during the rest of the year. The sand is then piled into large, tiered piles and decorated with colorful flags. Later in the day, people also do community services. Going to wat and doing community service teach people to give, the most basic way to happiness in Buddhism.
Songkran is a time for cleaning and renewal. Many Thais take this opportunity to give their home a thorough cleaning.
The throwing water part was originated as a way to pay respect to people, by pouring a small amount of lustral water on other people’s hands as a sign of respect.
Nowadays, the emphasis is placed on fun and water-throwing rather than on the festival’s spiritual and religious aspects.
(Thanks to wikipedia for helping me with this part of the blog)
This is what Blake and Karla stepped into when chose to visit us April 7th – April 13th. The first few days were mild. Small children with small buckets were a pleasant sideshow while they recovered from jet lag, visited an elephant camp, and enjoyed their first sites. We left Chiang Mai on Tuesday morning for two days at UHDP. We returned to a thai version of Mardi Gras with water guns and hoses. It was quite a vision to behold, and the traffic was insane. (Dead lock)
My final analysis of Songkran: If you’re coming to Chiang Mai, and you’re coming in April, you might as well come during the Thai New Year. All of the normal rules of social conduct for Thais fly out the window. It is unique, to say the least.
Thanks again to Blake and Karla for a wonderful week. It was wonderful for us to have the opportunity to share this place with you.
