Songkran: What is the Thai New Year?

The Thai New Year just ended, and I wanted to share everything I learned about my ancestry/heritage this week! This was the first year ever I got to spend Songkran in Thailand with my family. It was such a new, and fun experience that I am so grateful I got to be apart of. 

A Brief Overview of Songkran

Songkran is the traditional Thai New Year festival. The celebration focuses on  embracing goodwill, love, compassion. and thankfulness, using water as the means of expression.
 The word Songkran comes from Sanskrit meaning to move forward as well as referring to the passage of the sun from one sign of the Zodiac to another. This technically means that there are twelve Songkrans each year, but the significance of this specific Songkran is when the sun enters the sign of Aries the Ram. The event was also closely related to the Vernal Equinox.
In the past, celebrating New Year at the time of the Vernal Equinox was very common. Songkran can be compared to celebrations similar to the Indian Holi Festival, the Chinese Ching Ming, and the Christian Festival of Easter. 
The dates of Songkran were originally set by astrological calculations, but the celebration is now fixed on 13 -15 of April.
Songkran was the official New Year until 1888, when it was switched to a fixed date of April 1st. However, it wasn't until 1940, that New Years was shifted to January 1st. Currently in Thailand, New Year is now officially celebrated on January 1st like almost all other countries.

Day by Day Activities

1. Day One: On the first day of the Songkran people typically clean their homes and public places like temples and schools with the goal of ridding all the bad luck from the previous year while preparing them for the new year. A main activity that I had the opportunity to participate in  is Song Nam Phra. This is a ritual that involves the pouring of scented water (traditionally scented with a perfume called Nam Ob) onto the sacred torso and body of Buddha images.
2. Day 2: The second day during Songkran is known as Wan Nao. Wan Nao is when people prepare food and offerings for the monks and temples the following day. Families also pay respect to elders, and the young people in the family will prepare rose, jasmine, and Nam Op scented water to wash their parents' feet in a ceremony called Rot Nam Dam Hua. 
3. Day 3: Lastly, the third day of Songkran is called Wan Payawan. People typically start the day by visiting local temples to present food and clothing to the monks, who, in return, then pray for them.

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The Focused Values

1. The  Value of family: during the celebration family members come together to show their appreciation, love and respect through the making of merit and paying homage to the ancestors.
2. The Value of society: Songkran brings the people in the community together through active participation and interaction with one another  to enhance goodwill and unity within society.
3. The Value of religion: During the celebration the Thai people are constantly making merit by offering food to monks as well as going to the temples and attending Buddhist sermons 

Works Cited 
https://www.thaiembassy.sg/events/songkran-festival
https://www.hostelworld.com/blog/songkran-everything-you-need-to-know/
https://www.officeholidays.com/holidays/thailand/songkran-festival