The Thai New Year – One huge water fight!

The Thai New Year – One Big Water Fight!!!

Celebrating the Thai New Year in Bangkok was one crazy experience! It’s traditionally a religious festival in which Buddhists bathe Buddha images, monks, and elders and there is a procession of principal Buddha images. “Songkran,” the Thai word for the New Year, means “to move into” and refers to the orbit of the sun moving into Aries. It marks the end of the 12-month cycle and the beginning of a new solar year. Thais give thanks for acts of kindness that they’ve received over the past year and receive a sprinkling of water to symbolically cleanse themselves from all impurities, evils, and misfortune, in order to start the New Year afresh with all that is good and pure. Sprinkling water isn’t done in just a spirit of playfulness. Emulatin of the Naga (the snake-like water diety) is thought to bring bountiful rains during the monsoon season. But the sprinkling has grown into a full-fledged drowning over the years!

In essence, the Thai New Year (which technically lasts for three days, but is celebrated for up to one week in certain areas) is the world’s largest water gun fight. During the festival, armies of young and old alike line the streets with the latest in water weapons, while pick-up trucks crammed with wet passengers and water canons in the back take over the road. The armies on the street and the armies in the trucks mount fights against each other, each trying to outdo the other. Motorcycles swoop in for sneak attacks and are the objects of many attacks themselves. Buckets of water go flying, and no one is spared. Moving objects make especially good targets – particularly motorcycles, rickshaws (tuk-tuks), and buses. Even the passengers inside the buses get soaking wet (it’s too hot to close the windows, so they stay open)!

In addition to the water, the Thais smear a white powder paste all over the face and arms of their neighbors. When you “let” them do this (because they generally won’t, if you really don’t want them to), they smile and say “Thank you!” or “Happy New Year!”

Our celebration of the festival started out at the guesthouse, where our “grandmother” ran around with the garden hose, pointing it at the guests. We attacked back, and then she got the big bucket and dumped it over our heads! She was laughing like a little kid celebrating her first festival – and we couldn’t help but join in!

So as not to be left out, we got water guns, too! We got the really big kind that can shoot far, so we had a great time!!! After the soaking at the guesthouse, we headed over to Khao San Road – ground zero for the mother of all Songkran activities. This area was so packed with people that I became afraid of getting crushed by the crowd, so we eventually turned around and stayed on a parallel avenue. It was mayhem. Even the traffic cops and TV reporters don’t get spared – they’re covered in paste and water like everyone else! Stephane loved shooting the cops with his water gun – what fun!

So you end up being completely soaked all day long – but that’s just fine, because it is about the only thing that can cool you off during Bangkok’s hottest month. Besides, the water fights are all done in a gesture of friendliness and fun – everyone’s in a great mood and you just have to laugh at the whole thing!