fah-thai-magazine-march-april-2017-in-flight-magazine-of-bangkok-airways

Songkran
The word “Songkran” itself, as
legend has it, comes from Sanskrit,
meaning transformation or the
changing of the zodiac sign. The
festival always falls on April 13th through
the 15th, coinciding with the rising of Aries
in the Zodiac chart. Songkran has been
celebrated since the Sukhothai kingdom
(1238-1438), and carried on throughout
400 years of the Ayutthaya kingdom
(1351-1767), right up to the Rattanakosin
era or present day Thailand.
Right
Now the ‘big guns’
come out in megawater
battles.
Below
Water fights in the
past used water
from a nearby
river or canal.
The first day of Songkran, April 13, is
called “Wan Maha Songkran,” when
the sun is about to leave Pisces into
Aries. Usually, people clean up their
homes and prepare for the new year
merit-making. On the second day
of Songkran, or “Wan Nao,” the sun
approaches Aries – and completely
leaves Pisces behind. Since it’s
neither in the old or new year, but
somewhere in between, people use
polite words and hope for the best in
the year to come. Many people go to
the temple, with food and buckets of
sand for the religious ceremony. The
New Year begins on the third day
“Wan Tha Rerk Suk,” since the sun
has completely moved into Aries.
Traditionally, the Buddhist
temple would become the centre
stage for the Songkran celebration.
The classic Thai poem “Khun
Chang Khun Phaen” portrays a
love triangle during the Ayutthaya
period, when the Songkran
festival saw celebration for three
days at a local temple. Local folks
would gather at the Wat Pa Lelai
monastery, as the poem goes, to
offer food to the monks. People
build sand pagodas as a way of
making merit, along with freeing
birds from cages.
It is here, at the temple during
the Songkran ceremony, that the
dashing but poor novice monk
Phaen meets beautiful Wanthong.
Enter another suitor, Chang
(unattractive but rich) who gets
involved. They pour perfumed
water into the hands of the elders
to show respect and seek their New
Year blessing. Then, young people
throw buckets of water to each
other for fun and to keep cool in
the April heat.
As time went by, Songkran
began to be a more visible and
active event. In Chiang Mai in
1922, the city promoted Songkran
to boost domestic tourism.
From Bangkok, visitors took an
overnight train to Chiang Mai for
the holiday. The very first tourist
group to Chiang Mai visited the
city’s landmarks, such as Wat
Phrathat Doi Suthep before bathing
the Singh Buddha image and
throwing water amongst the locals.
By the 1950s the city, led by
its elite members such as Kraisri
Nimmandheminda, reinvented
Songkran Festival for tourism. In
order to showcase Lanna culture
and capture the festive mood of
Songkran, Chiang Mai developed a
procession of Buddha images and
cultural floats. As the procession
roamed around the old city of
Chiang Mai, local people put up
altars in front of their homes as
a way to pay their respects to the
Buddha. The addition of the beauty
contest “Miss Songkran” added
more colour to the festival, so did a
series of Lanna cultural shows.
By the 1980s, Chiang Mai
attracted the first foreign tourists
for the Songkran holiday following
the successful domestic tourism
campaign. Phra Singh, Chiang Mai’s
most sacred Buddha image, left the
temple for the first time to join the
Songkran procession. Many more
temples created their own floats
and joined grander processions. A
parade of beautiful women riding
bicycles and holding parasols
became “poster girls.” The Tourism
Authority of Thailand (TAT) joined
in organising splendid cultural
shows at Tha Phae Gate.
From its beginnings in the
temple grounds, Songkran moved
Where to Get Wet
in Thailand?
Two of the most popular Songkran
destinations in Thailand are Bangkok
and Chiang Mai.
Silom Road
In the capital, the
business district of
Silom hosts the largest
and wildest crowd of
revellers in Bangkok.
The water deluge
stretches about 5 km.
To stay dry stay on the
BTS skywalk to observe
the huge crowds in
their water splashing
fun and smattering of
scented powder.
Khao San Road
It’s Songkran and more
– meaning things can
get wilder along the bars
and restaurants of
Khao San Road in
Bangkok. Police checkpoints
make sure
inebriated and overly
enthusiastic participants
don’t get out of hand.
Chiang Mai
The entire city
celebrates Songkran.
Around Tha Phae Gate
(Chiang Mai Gate,)
beware of water
ambushes. The most
popular places for water
play take place around
the moat, canals and
around the Ping River.
34
35