WACKY WEDNESDAYS: Water Fights Are Inevitable At The Songkran Festival

We’re back with a wacky festival and this time, things are gonna get slippery!

The New Year is always a time of fun and frolic, but things get even better when the Thai New Year comes around. The Sherp explores this fun tradition that takes place every year and includes a lot of water.

The Songkran Festival was originally a traditional practice of visiting local temples and offering food to the Buddhist monks. But, over the years, the festival has grown to become a large water-gun fight which we’re dying to be a part of! On this special occasion, pouring water on Buddhist statues is considered to symbolise purification and washing away of one’s sins. Food is also provided for the monks before they take to the streets to carry Buddhist statues for the people to pour water on.

People who have moved away from home return for their loved ones and show them respect by pouring water over the elders’ palms, an important Songkran tradition. It claims to restore a high amount of respect to their deceased ancestors on the auspicious day, who bless them in return.

The real fun starts when all the young people (even those young at heart), fill the streets to play with water. Roads are closed off and converted into water fight arenas for the event. In a few Northern regions, the festival is also celebrated by lighting firecrackers to repel bad luck, before they’re doused in water from head to toe.

There are a number of celebration centres which hold huge water parades and it is a big tourist attraction for obvious reasons. You can see young adults, children and even a few elders dressed in bold colours splashing people at any chance they get.

With the level of competition so high, some even take grand measures and bring in elephants to spray water on innocent people, who just want to marvel at it’s beauty. A trap well played, in deed.

You can see how happy everyone looks at the festival, even while tourists get in on the fun. This goes to show that even a simple festival can get people to unite. Inspiring A.F.

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