If there was a better time to explore the uniqueness of Amazing Thailand, the Thai New Year, known as the Songkran Festival from April 13 to 16 is an event where an all-out water battle and ancient traditions somehow blend in an annual celebration. The country is coming to a business standstill, turning into a national party.
Itโs unlike anything else in the world. And itโs wet. Venturing out onto Thailandโs streets on April 13 is an open invitation to have a bucket of water thrown at you or a loaded water super-soaker aimed in your direction. You WILL get wet.
For tourists, the event offers a huge water party breaking out in the streets of Thailandโs towns and villages. For locals, it is a time when they can spend moments with their families and visit temples to ย make merit โ and then get involved in the water fights as well.
This Songkran 2019 the Tourism Authority of Thailand has organized celebrations in threeย tourist destinations โ Tak, Mukdahan and Ranong โ and is supporting activities in eight other provinces (Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Lampang, Ayutthaya, Phuket and Songkhla).
Songkranย is the Thai New Year’sย national holiday. Songkran is 13 April every year, but the holiday period extends from 14 to 15 April. In 2018 the Thai cabinet extended the festival nationwide to five days, 12โ16 April, to enable citizens to travel home for the holiday.ย In 2019, the holiday will be observed 12โ16 April as 13 April falls on a Saturday.ย The word “Songkran” comes from theย Sanskritย wordย saแนkrฤntiย ,literally “astrological passage”, meaning transformation or change. The term was borrowed fromย Makar Sankranti, the name of aย Hindu harvest festival celebrated inย Indiaย in January to mark the arrival ofย spring. It coincides with the rising of Aries on the astrological chartย and with the New Year of many calendars ofย Southย andย Southeast Asia, in keeping with theย Buddhist/Hinduย solar calendar.