Songkran
The Songkran festival (Thai: สงกรานต์, Khmer: សង្រ្កាន្ត; from the Sanskrit word saṃkrānti, or literally "astrological passage")is celebrated in Thailandas the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15April. It coincides with the New Year of many calendars of Southand SoutheastAsia.
The date of the festival was originally set byastrological calculation, but itis now fixed. If these days fall ona weekend, the missed days offare taken on the weekdays immediately following. If they fall in the middle of the week, many Thai take off from the previous Friday until the following Monday. Songkran falls in the hottest time of the year in Thailand,at the end of the dry season. Until 1888 the Thai New Year was the beginning of the year in Thailand; thereafter 1April was used until 1940. 1 Januaryis now the beginning of the year. The traditional Thai New Year has beena national holiday since then.
Songkran has traditionally been celebratedas the New Year for many centuries,andis believed to have beenadapted froman
Indian festival. Itis now observed nationwide, even in the far south. However, the most famous Songkran celebrationsare still in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where it continues for six daysand even longer. It hasalso becomea party for foreignersandanadditional reason for many to visit Thailand for immersion inanother culture.
New year traditions
The most obvious celebration of Songkranis the throwing of water. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns (sometimes mixed with mentholated talc), or post themselvesat the side of roads witha garden hoseand drench each otherand passersby. This, however, was notalways the mainactivity of this festival. Songkran was traditionallya time to visitand pay respects to elders, including family members, friends, neighbors,and monks.
Besides the throwing of water, people celebrating Songkranasa
Buddhist festivalmayalso go toa wat(Buddhist monastery) to prayand give food to monks. They mayalso cleanse Buddhaimages from household shrinesas wellas Buddha imagesat monasteries by gently pouring water mixed witha Thai fragrance (Thai: น้ำอบไทย) over them. Itis believed that doing this will bring good luckand prosperity for the New Year. In many cities, suchas Chiang Mai, the Buddha images fromall of the city's important monasteriesare paraded through the streets so that people can toss waterat them, ritually 'bathing' the images,as they pass by on ornately decorated floats. In northern Thailand, people may carry handfuls of sand to their neighborhood monastery in order to recompense the dirt that they have carriedaway on their feet during the rest of the year. The sandis then sculpted into stupa-shaped pilesand decorated with colorful flags.
Some people make New Year resolutions - to refrain from bad behavior, or to do good things. Songkranis a time for cleaningand renewal. Besides washing household Buddha images, many Thais also take this opportunity to give their homea thorough cleaning.
The throwing of water originatedasa way to pay respect to people, by capturing the waterafter it had been poured over the Buddhas for cleansingand then using this "blessed" water to give good fortune to eldersand family by gently pouring it on the shoulder.Among young people the holiday evolved to include dousing strangers with water to relieve the heat, sinceAprilis the hottest month in Thailand (temperatures can rise to over 100°F or 40°C on some days). This has further evolved into water fightsand splashing water over people riding in vehicles.
Nowadays, the emphasis is on funand water-throwing rather than on the festival's spiritualand religiousaspects, which sometimes prompts complaints from traditionalists. In recent years there have been calls to moderate the festival to lessen the manyalcohol-related roadaccidentsas wellas injuriesattributed to extreme behavior suchas water being thrown in the faces of traveling motorcyclists.
The wateris meantasa symbol of washingall of the badawayandis sometimes filled with fragrant herbs when celebrated in the traditional manner.
Songkranis also celebrated in many places witha pageant in which young women demonstrate their beautyand unique talents,as judged by theaudience. The level of financial support usually determines the winner, since, to show your support you must purchase necklaces which you place on your chosen girl.
Astrological calculation
Although the traditional calendar of Thailand like most of SoutheastAsiautilizesa lunisolar calendar, the date of the new year was calculated ona purely solar basis. The term Songkran comes from Sanskrit"Sankranta"and means "a move or change" - in this case the move of the sun into the Aries zodiac. Originally this happenedat the vernal equinox, but,as the Thai astrology did not observe precession, the date moved from March toApril.
Thereis a similar named Indian Festival calledas Sankrant or Makar Sankranti
The traditional new yearcelebration in Sri Lankaalso coincides with the Thai new year.
The Tamil New year, The Bengali, Nepali, Orissanand Malayali New years in southAsia also fall on the same dayas the Thai new year.
Greetings
The traditional greetingis "สวัสดีปีใหม่" (sa-wat-di pi mai), basically "Happy New Year". Sawatdiis also used for "hello" or "goodbye". Piand maimean "year"and "new" respectively in Thai.Another greeting usedis "สุขสันต์วันปีใหม่" (suk-san wan pi mai), where suksanmeans "happy".
However, most people use "สุขสันต์วันสงกรานต์" (suk-san wan songkran) — meaning "Happy Songkran Day" — since pi mai is more often linked with the first of January. Suksanis also usedasanattribute for other days suchas Valentine's Day ("สุขสันต์วันแห่งความรัก" suk-san wan haeng khwam rak; Happy Valentine's Day).
However, most people use "สุขสันต์วันสงกรานต์" (suk-san wan songkran) — meaning "Happy Songkran Day" — since pi mai is more often linked with the first of January. Suksanis also usedasanattribute for other days suchas Valentine's Day ("สุขสันต์วันแห่งความรัก" suk-san wan haeng khwam rak; Happy Valentine's Day).
In other calendars
Songkranis also celebrated in Laos(called pee mai lao), Cambodia(called Chaul Chnam Thmey, Cambodian New Year), Myanmar(called Thingyan),and by the Dai people in Yunnan, China(called Water-Splashing Festival). The same dayis celebrated in SouthAsian calendarsas well: the Assamese(called Rongali Bihu), Bengali(called Pohela Boishakh), Oriya(called Maha Visuba Sankranthi), Malayali, Punjabi, Sinhalese,and TamilNew Years fall on the same dates, based on theastrological event of the sun beginning its northward journey.And,as mentionedabove, thereis an Indian Festival calledas Sankrant or Makar Sankranti in Marathi, celebrated every year on 14 January. Songkranas suchis similar to the Indian festival of Holi, witha lot of splashing of wateras paints, colored dusts,and fragrances.
The traditional new year celebration in Sri Lankaalso coincides with the Thai new year.
In Nepal, the official new yearis celebrated on the 1st of Baisakh(Baisākh)according toastrological calendar Vikram Samwatand day often falls somewhere between 12-15April.
It occursat the same timeas that given by Bede for festivals of Eostre—and Easterweekend occasionally coincides with Songkran (most recently 1979, 1990,and 2001, but notagain until 2085).
The traditional new year celebration in Sri Lankaalso coincides with the Thai new year.
In Nepal, the official new yearis celebrated on the 1st of Baisakh(Baisākh)according toastrological calendar Vikram Samwatand day often falls somewhere between 12-15April.
It occursat the same timeas that given by Bede for festivals of Eostre—and Easterweekend occasionally coincides with Songkran (most recently 1979, 1990,and 2001, but notagain until 2085).
Seealso
References
- ^ Saṃkrānti, Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary
- ^ http://www.assa.org.au/edm.html#List20
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