Songkran is the Thai name for the Buddhist , a celebration known internationally for its water fights.
See also: Where to celebrate Songkran 2025 in Thailand? The best places
In Thailand, we celebrate three New Years: the international New Year, the Chinese New Year , and Songkran, which is the most important.
The holiday is celebrated by everyone, all over Thailand.
It is an opportunity for people who have moved to other cities or towns to return home and spend time with their families.
Happy New Year: Sawatdee pii maille
Happy Songkran: Suk san wan Songkran
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Thai New Year 2025 Date
From April 13 to 15, 2025
Buddhist year 2025: 2568
The exact date of Thai New Year is always dependent on the lunar cycle.
It also corresponds to the hottest period of the dry season.
The official Songkran festival lasts three days, which are a public holiday, from April 13 to 15, but celebrations can last longer, up to a week, and be staggered in some places.
For example, Bangkok is holding a festival from April 11 to 15 in Sanam Luang Park this year.
See: Thailand: Songkran 2025 festival set to make a global splash
History, Origin and Tradition of Thai New Year
Buddhists show respect to monks by pouring scented water over their hands during Songkran. Photo: aleenta.com
The word Songkran is derived from ancient Sanskrit, an ancient language of India, meaning "to enter into," "to enter," or "to pass into."
It describes the monthly movement or "astrological passage" from one sphere of the zodiac to another.
In April, the sun leaves the sphere of Aries and enters that of Taurus, a period known as Maha Songkran or Great Songkran.
This period marks the beginning of the Thai New Year.
This celebration is believed to have its origins in a Hindu spring festival that marked the arrival of the new harvest season in ancient India.
While other Southeast Asian countries celebrate a similar traditional New Year, Thailand's Songkran is the most well-known worldwide.
The festival was inscribed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Site on Wednesday, December 6, 2023.
The three days of celebration
Photo: TAT
On the first day of the festival , April 13, known as Songkran Day, people clean their homes and public places like temples and schools to get rid of the bad luck of the previous year and prepare for the new year.
Another main activity is Song Nam Phra, a ritual that involves pouring scented water over sacred Buddha images in a temple.
It is important to note that the scented water (Nam Ob) is not poured over the head of the image, but rather over the torso and body.
The head is a sacred part of the body for Thais, see: Dos and Don'ts in Thailand, Essential Things to Know
Nam Ob Thai is a light yellow scented water, its name comes from the word for water (nam) and for essence (ob).
The second day , April 14, is called Wan Nao.
This is the time when people prepare food and offerings to give to monks and temples the next day.
It is also an occasion to show respect to elders, and young people prepare rose and jasmine water as well as Nam Ob scented water to wash their parents' feet in a ceremony called Rot Nam Dam Hua.
Act of respect towards elders
In return, the parents give their blessing to the children, usually accompanied by a garland of jasmine flowers.
Many people also make sand stupas, called Chedi Sai, on the grounds of their local temple, a kind of personal pagoda and a fun way to make a spiritual offering as a family.
People also like to create a bit of good karma by releasing caged birds or fish into streams.
Offering seller in front of Wat Phra Sri Rattana in Phitsanulok
This ceremony takes place all over the country, but one of the best places to observe or even participate in it is in Phra Pradaeng, Samut Prakan province.
The ceremony has been part of the tradition of Wat Proteket Chettaram temple for decades.
The third day of Songkran , April 15, is called Wan Payawan and people usually begin the day by going to the local temple to offer food and clothing to the monks, who then pray for them.
They also participate in other rituals believed to bring them luck in the New Year.
A floral festival
Floral garlands
Besides scented water, flower garlands are also a must-have at Songkran, as they add a fragrant and aesthetic touch to the festivities.
Three main types of fragrant flowers are generally used to make these garlands: dok mali (jasmine), dok champhi (white champaca) and roses.
Phuang Malai garland or floral garland is popular to be given to older relatives to express love and respect.
Songkran and its water battles
Basically, it was just this story of pouring water over loved ones and friends to purify themselves and ward off bad luck.
But public events have evolved and today the festival has become a pretext for incredible water fights in the streets of cities and villages across the country.
The country is turning into a battlefield, with gangs forming on the sidewalks and waiting to spray passers-by and cars.
On the roads, pick-ups loaded with water cans, sometimes coming from the surrounding villages, do the same, and everyone splashes each other with joy and good humor.
Practical advice for tourists
Tourists get talcum powder applied to their faces during Songkran in Bangkok's Khao San Road area. Photo: Varuth Hirunyatheb
Keep your cool (Jay Yen in Thai: jay = heart, yen = cold).
If you go out during Songkran you should expect to be hosed down or have your face covered in talcum powder.
It's part of the tradition, let yourself go and smile!
Sometimes the water will be very cold (some smart people put ice cubes in the buckets), sometimes you will be attacked from behind.
There are even children so eager to use their new water gun that they spray you with it a few days before the official start of the festivities!
Don't wear your best clothes for these reasons.
And if you are a woman, be careful about the type of clothing you are going to wear, some can become transparent when wet!
During this period, you will find many waterproof plastic pouches in stores to protect your cameras, photo devices and important papers.
But these protections are not infallible, it is better to leave these objects at your hotel, in a secure area.
Songkran is also the festival of mobile phone sellers!
By law, you must always carry your passport with you, however, during Songkran you risk getting your important documents wet.
It is best to make photocopies of your passport and laminate them to take with you and leave all important documents at the hotel.
How to avoid water fights?
Water fights during the Songkran festival in Thailand. Photo: Drpnncpp
It will depend on where you are, in some cities there are designated watering zones, but you are never really safe unless you stay locked in your hotel!
Shopping malls and cinemas are open during Songkran, so you're safe inside, but you still need to be able to get there without getting wet!
If you must use public transportation, make sure you use an air-conditioned bus or taxi.
If you use a normal bus with the windows down or a tuk tuk then you risk getting sprayed.
Alcohol consumption and road accidents
Songkran in Phuket. Photo: Phuket@photographer.net
Many people drink day and night during Songkran, if you have Thai friends, you will be invited for drinks from the morning!
It's the holiday that causes the most car accidents!
Most deaths occur on secondary roads and in the evening.
On major roads, most accidents are caused by drunk driving and speeding.
If you are driving, be very careful, there are many drunk drivers on the roads during Songkran.
Don't even consider driving if you've been drinking alcohol.
If you ride a motorcycle, wear a helmet.
Police are setting up roadblocks all over the country, especially in tourist areas, so if you don't follow these safety measures, you could end up in jail or have to pay a large fine.
Songkran Videos
The traditional Songkran song
To give you an idea of the crazy atmosphere during Songkran.
Songkran in Chiang Mai
Songkran in Bangkok
See also:
Thailand's Songkran Festival: Its Origins, History, and Modern Celebration
Festivals and public holidays in Thailand, important dates
References: wikipedia.org ; Video: Songkran in Chiang Mai: Han Thomas; Photos: Sonkran festival: Takeaway; Tuktuk in chiangmai, songkran: Takeaway; Songkran at Wat Kungthapao: Tevaprapas Makklay; Songkran at Wat Kungthapao 2: Tevaprapas Makklay
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1 comment
The water is far from being perfumed, it is drawn directly from the hyper dirty and polluted canal of the city of Chiang Mai, which during this period is ranked the most polluted city in the world, add to that the water flow in your hotel room during this party risks being close to zero, especially if you stay in a guest house from the 3rd floor, you risk being deprived of a shower for 5 days, the water flow is made weak because the water is channeled to supply the canal so that the level is within reach of the watering partygoers.
Happy holidays to everyone