Why Songkran is Bangkok’s Top Cultural Festival

Ranked among the country's most vibrant cultural festivals, there's something about Songkran that fascinates and attracts holidaymakers hailing from different corners of the world. Taking place in April, this annual event which is also known as the Thai New Year Water Festival is steeped in traditions and customs that transcend the street water fights the event is associated with. Here's a deep dive into the meaning, symbolism and historical role of this centuries-old harvest festival.

Timing and Cultural Significance

Although Thailand celebrates the New Year according to the widely accepted Georgian calendar on January 1st, it is the 13th of April that most locals look forward to with great anticipation. This is due to the fact that the Thai New Year falls during the month of April (13th to 15th) and is a grand celebration that brings the whole country to a proverbial standstill. As a former harvest festival with religious undertones that was marked according to the traditions of an agricultural society, the timing of Songkran unsurprisingly coincides with the year's first harvest season. As an event centred around bidding farewell to one year and welcoming another, there are a great many rituals and customs that are performed during Songkran to secure the favour of the gods for a prosperous New Year.

Festival Features

Water is an essential element in Songkran as the Thai New Year's famous water fights represent the symbolic qualities and functions of water in Thai culture. Seen as a cleansing and purifying component, the practice of dousing or "bathing" Buddha sculptures during the festival period and during other auspicious occasions is a practice that's rooted in this belief. This is why friends, family and loved ones are the target of water guns during Songkran as the act of sprinkling someone with water is believed to ward off negative energies from the previous year. As a time of year when most locals return to their villages and ancestral homes to celebrate with loved ones, Songkran is a festival that strengthens familial bonds and brings communities together.

The First Day

Although the entire festival is collectively known as Songkran, the first day of the festival which falls on April 13th is what is officially dubbed Songkran Day among locals. Parades and processions carrying sacred Buddha sculptures and images are commonplace on the streets of Bangkok and other Thai cities and villages on this sacred day. Thai homes will also be cleansed with water in preparation for the celebrations while small-scale water fights are also known to erupt on major highways and byways in cities.

The Second Day: Saying Goodbye to Another Year

Called Wan Nao, the second day of the festivities focuses on bidding adieu to the previous year with most locals heading to the nearest Buddhist temple to make "chedis" in sand. Taking the shape of a Buddhist stupa, fashioning chedis inside temple confines is one of the festivals' most intriguing rituals.

The Final Day

The final day brings things to a fever pitch although the morning hours of the last day are spent making religious offerings at temples and securing blessings from the gods. Songkran events in cities such as Bangkok usually take place on the 15th of April as communities are in a celebratory mood on the final day.

Bangkok's Songkran Hotspots

Holidaymakers based at Avani Sukhumvit Bangkok Hotel or any other city hotels thanks to Bangkok hotel deals during this festive season will find that certain areas of the city embody the spirit of Songkran more than others. The area around Wat Pho and Khao San Road are some of the best locations for tourists to get a taste of the street water fights that break out all across Bangkok as there will be special parades, water splashing competitions and cultural performances taking centre stage in these hotspots.