Want to experience a month-long celebration featuring water battles in the streets and other amazing festivities? Discover the Thai Songkran Festival.
A water fight during the 2015 Songkran Festival in Thailand. Sano Rin. CC BY-NC 2.0
Thousands of international travelers are drawn to Thailand each year to celebrate the Songkran Festival, also known as Thai New Year. Songkran has been celebrated for thousands of years, but this year is special. In 2023, UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) added the festival to the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list. In honor of this recognition, the Thai government plans to hold Songkran festivities for the entire month of April 2024, instead of the usual three-day period between April 13th and 15th.
The Songkran Festival has evolved over the years. The first recorded reference to the holiday dates back to the 15th century, with some scholars theorizing that it was derived from the Indian Holi Festival. The Sanskrit word for “movement” is the root of the term “Songkran,” which refers to the movement of the sun from the astrological months of Pisces to Aries during April.
Water is a focal point of many Songkran Festival traditions, symbolizing cleansing and good fortune for the coming year. Rod Nam Dam Hua is a tradition in which youngsters pour scented water on their elders' hands to express gratitude. Scented water is also sprinkled on Buddha statues to bring prosperity, and respect for ancestors is shown by bathing their urns. According to some scholars, the notorious water battles began to promote tourism during the 20th century. Other traditions include offering food to Buddhist monks and bringing sand pagodas to local temples to replenish the sand tracked out of the temples throughout the year.
April is the hottest part of the year in Thailand. If you want to beat the heat by getting soaked during the water battles, check out streets like Khao San Road in Bangkok, or other popular walking streets in cities like Pattaya or Chiang Mai. As locals and tourists drench each other with buckets and colorful squirt guns, music and the aromas of street foods like Thai fried chicken (called Gai Tod) fill the air.
If water fights aren’t your thing, April is still a great time to experience Thailand. Travelers can experience a variety of activities from Thai beauty pageants to boat races. Thailand's natural environments boast breathtaking destinations from white sand beaches featuring coral reefs to lush hiking trails. For those yearning to see some historical wonders, Thailand offers ancient destinations like the city of Ayutthaya and the Phanom Rung temple complex. You can then recover from a long day of fun with revitalizing Thai dishes such as beef curried noodles, called Christao Khao Soy Nuea, or Bangkok Glutton Som Tum, a Green Papaya salad.
As Thais gear up for this year's Songkran Festival, it is important for travelers to stay up to date on Covid-related travel protocols and other ways to be respectful during the celebrations. For all the water-loving cultural fanatics, the 2024 Songkran Festival awaits you.
Madison Paulus
Madison is a student at George Washington University studying international affairs, journalism, mass communication, and Arabic. Born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Madison grew up in a creative, open-minded environment. With passions for human rights and social justice, Madison uses her writing skills to educate and advocate. In the future, Madison hopes to pursue a career in science communication or travel journalism.