The Thai New Year’s Festival

Podcast Transcript

Songkran is a standard competition celebrated in Thailand that marks the beginning of the Thai New 12 months. Additionally it is generally known as the Water Pageant, because it entails splashing water on each other as a symbolic gesture of cleaning and washing away the sins and unhealthy luck of the earlier yr.

Nonetheless, it’s since advanced into one thing way more than a non secular observance. It has turn into the world’s greatest water struggle.

Be taught extra about Songkran, the Thai New 12 months’s celebration, on this episode of All the things In every single place Every day.

I’ll usually toss a private anecdote into episodes, however for this episode, I wish to begin with one.

In 2010, I used to be in Bangkok on the primary day of Songkran. I walked out of my lodge within the morning to stroll to a comfort retailer one block away. I knew it was Songkran, however I had no concept what that basically meant.

As I used to be strolling down the road, a girl who I had by no means seen earlier than in my life walked as much as me and pulled the collar of my shirt. She then proceeded to dump a bucket of water down my shirt and mentioned, in English, Joyful New 12 months.

I discovered in my first few steps out the door simply what Songkran was about.

Getting water dumped down my shirt was the primary of many moist Songkran experiences I had over the subsequent few days.

So, what precisely is Songkran, and what does it should do with dumping water on strangers?

The Thai New 12 months’s Celebration truly has historic roots.

Mainland Southeast Asia has been known as Indochina. It’s a time period that isn’t used a lot anymore, but it surely displays the truth that India and China have closely influenced the area.

Nonetheless, all the international locations within the area weren’t influenced by India and China equally. Nations like Vietnam had been extra influenced by China, primarily on account of geography. Nations like Burma and Thailand had been extra influenced by India.

The standard New 12 months’s Day in India was calculated when the solar entered the constellation of Aires. Centuries in the past, this occurred proper across the spring equinox, so figuring out the brand new yr by calculating the place of the solar towards the constellations made sense.

Over time, the precession of the Earth resulted within the Solar getting into the constellation Aires weeks after the equinox.

They caught with the motion of the solar because the definition of the brand new yr, not the equinox.

The identify of the solar’s entrance into Aires in Sanskrit is me?a sa?kr?nti, which is the origin of the phrase Songkran.

As Hinduism unfold eastward into southeast Asia, the custom of figuring out the brand new yr got here with it.

In the present day, virtually each Buddhist and Hindu nation in South and Southeast Asia has a celebration across the similar time. In Thailand, it’s Songkran. In Myanmar, it’s Thingyan. In Cambodia, it’s Choul Chnam Thmey. In Laos, it’s Pi Mai.

A few of you is perhaps questioning, however Gary, Southeast Asia isn’t Hindu, it’s Buddhist.

To which I’d reply, you might be appropriate, however the whole area was profoundly Hindu. Angkor in Cambodia, My Son in Vietnam, and Prambanan in Indonesia had been all historic Hindu temples. The final vestiges of Hinduism within the area are on the island of Bali.

Buddhism has existed within the area virtually because the faith started, but it surely was solely within the final one thousand years that Theravada Buddhism turned dominant.

The Buddhists stored the observe of celebrating New 12 months when the solar entered the constellation Aires.

Whereas Buddhists stored the date, they added extra traditions to the brand new yr celebrations.

Specifically, for the aim of this episode, they used the brand new yr as a chance to wash the temples in addition to the statues of Buddha. Specifically, they used water to wash the statues because the water is a technique to wash off the outdated yr.

Temples and statues aren’t the one issues cleaned throughout Songkran. It’s an excuse to wash houses, places of work, and colleges as nicely. Additionally it is the time of the yr when folks journey to be reunited with their households.

Folks will go to temples, make choices of meals, and provides meals to monks.

Completely different areas in Thailand could have their very own explicit traditions surrounding Songkran. Within the east, pagodas or stupas made out of sand will likely be constructed. These will be huge buildings which might be solely non permanent.

In some locations, they may have colourful parades. In different areas, the observe of releasing fish and birds into the wild.

Songkran turned so common in Thailand that the federal government formally expanded Songkran to 3 days, setting the dates from April 12-14 in most years. Nonetheless, the beginning and ending dates can fluctuate by a day.

The celebrations that are held round South and Southeast Asia all happen on April 13 or 14, relying on the nation. Lots of the celebrations, particularly these in Southeast Asia, are similar to the traditions present in Thailand.

Nonetheless, none of what I’ve talked about to this point can clarify why somebody would stroll as much as a stranger and pour a bucket of water down their shirt.

All the issues I’ve talked about to this point are traditions that aren’t very seen. In case you occur to be in Thailand throughout Songkran, you’ll undoubtedly know one thing is occurring, but it surely isn’t for any of the issues I’ve mentioned.

Along with washing statues with water, it’s thought of good luck to sprinkle water on somebody’s head.

This custom has someway morphed and escalated into the whole nation turning into a three-day large water struggle. A large aquatic battle of everybody vs. everybody. Nobody is secure, and there aren’t any excuses.

The weapons on this water struggle embody every thing from buckets and hoses to tremendous soakers.

Once I walked down the road throughout Songkran, I turned an unwitting combatant in a water conflict that I didn’t know was going down.

If you’re driving down the road on a bike, somebody will hit you with water. There are folks arrange on some streets who simply attempt to hit passers-by.

It doesn’t matter you probably have electronics on you that is perhaps broken. Don’t carry them out in public throughout Songkran.

Once I was there for Songkran in 2010, I went to take part in one of many greatest Songkran occasions on Khao San Highway.

Khao San Highway is generally a shady place the place backpackers keep, and I normally did my greatest to keep away from it.

Throughout Songkran, virtually all the companies on Khao San Highway shut down because it became the largest avenue social gathering within the metropolis. Everybody had some type of squirt gun. I introduced my digital camera with me to {photograph} it, however nobody cared that I used to be carrying a delicate piece of electronics.

I needed to jerry-rig water safety for my digital camera by placing it in a plastic bag after which attaching the opening of the bag round my lens hood.

Hundreds of individuals moved up and down the road, getting hit with water from each route and from folks with hoses on the sidelines.

Along with the water, many individuals will even create a kind of paste out of water and talcum powder and smear that on folks as nicely.

Whereas Khao San Highway was the epicenter for this in Bangkok, this was occurring everywhere in the nation.

Once I was there in 2010, it was in the course of an enormous political occasion generally known as the Pink Shirt Protests. 100,000s of individuals had descended on Bangkok to protest the federal government. At first died down in Could, dozens of individuals can be lifeless and 1000’s injured in political violence.

Nonetheless, regardless of what was occurring, either side appeared to have an efficient ceasefire throughout Songkran.

Driving across the metropolis, I noticed impromptu musical performances on avenue corners, in addition to the ever-present water weapons.

This similar scene was going down in different cities throughout Thailand.

I ought to observe that there’s a darkish aspect to Songkran as nicely. You in all probability wound’t be shocked to listen to that site visitors fatalities normally double throughout Songkran annually. 70-80% of these fatalities occur on motorbikes.

Thailand is a extremely popular vacationer vacation spot, nevertheless, throughout Songkran, it turns into additional busy as folks come to participate within the festivities.

I can’t say I blame them. I wasn’t in Thailand for Songkran, however being there for it was a singular expertise and one which I’ll always remember.

If you’re the type of person who doesn’t like having water dumped in your head by strangers, and I can completely perceive if that’s the case, then, by all means, keep away from Thailand throughout Songkran.

For these of you who’re in Thailand or are celebrating new years festivities in any of the neighboring international locations, let me simply say a hearty

sa-wat-dee pi mai (blissful new yr)

The Govt Producer of All the things In every single place Every day is Charles Daniel.

The affiliate producers are Thor Thomsen and Peter Bennett.

I’ve some boostagrams to share with you. Keep in mind that boostagams are direct messages despatched with a small donation on new podcast apps that you will discover over on newpodcastapps.com.

The primary is a 2500 sat increase from Scott over on podverse.fm. He writes,

Thanks for all of the superb content material! I beloved the episodes on Ramadan and Easter, as they helped me study extra about fascinating Muslim customs, in addition to some historical past of my very own Christian faith. Props.

Thanks, Scott. I hope you additionally had been capable of study one thing immediately about Songkran as nicely.

I even have been getting common 111 sat boosts from Joelw, who additionally despatched a 1000 sat increase for episode quantity 1000.

I additionally wish to thank Dave Jones, uzza, Petar, waldi, amaanki, janilton03, and plenty of others who’ve despatched boosts as nicely.

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