Songkran Festival

Date: April 10-15, 2012

Location: Chiang Mai

Activities: The Songkran festival is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15 April. Songkran has traditionally been celebrated as the New Year for many centuries, and is believed to have been adapted from an Indian festival. It is now observed nationwide, even in the far south. However, the most famous Songkran celebrations are still in the northern city of Chiang Mai, where it continues for six days and even longer. It has also become a party for foreigners and an additional reason for many to visit Thailand for immersion in another culture. The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns (sometimes mixed with mentholated talc), or post themselves at the side of roads with a garden hose and drench each other and passersby. This, however, was not always the main activity of this festival. Songkran was traditionally a time to visit and pay respects to elders, including family members, friends, neighbors, and monks.

Besides the throwing of water, people celebrating Songkran as a Buddhist festival may also go to a wat (Buddhist monastery) to pray and give food to monks. They may also cleanse Buddha images from household shrines as well as Buddha images at monasteries by gently pouring water mixed with a Thai fragrance over them. It is believed that doing this will bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year. In many cities, such as Chiang Mai, the Buddha images from all of the city's important monasteries are paraded through the streets so that people can toss water at 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 carried away on their feet during the rest of the year. The sand is then sculpted into stupa-shaped piles and decorated with colorful flags.

Songkran is 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). 

Below is the day-by-day schedule of Songkran festivities in Chiang Mai, 2012.

At certain temples you can watch festivities and event every day during the festival:

April 10 - 15, 2012:   Wat Jedlin

08.00 - 21.30    At Wat Jedlin you can observe worshippers building pagodas of sand and bathing Buddha statues. There will also be a blessing competition and local performances. Wat Jedlin is located Pra Plok Kao Road within the city moat.

April 11 - 15, 2012:  

Wat Phra Singh

08.00 - 23.00    At Wat Phra Sing there is a Thai songs competition, local performances, local market, bathing ceremonies  and other celebrations of the Phra Sihing Buddha statue at Wat Phra Singh.

09.00 - 22.00    Bathing the Wat Pan-On’s relic at Wat Pan-On on Rachadamnoen Road, 300 meters from Tha Pae Gate

17.00 - 23.00    Local New Year’s Celebration, local and international food and performances at Thapae gate and Old town center

Wat Phra Singh is located on Singharat Road within the moat.

April 12 - 15, 2012:  

09.00 - 21.00    Lanna Wisdom Exhibition at Wat Inthakin, next to Three Kings Monument

09.00 - 22.00    Bathing of the Sirimunklajarn statue, making sand pagodas and Lanna performances at Buddha Satan, Thapae Road

April 13 - 15, 2012: 

19.00 - 24.00    There are Miss Songkran contest and Lanna Wisdom Exhibition at Thapae Gate

The daily program:

Thursday, April 12, 2012

06.00 - 08.00    Making merit to celebrate the 716th year Chiang Mai Anniversary at the Three Kings Monument

08.00 - 08.30    Appeasing the spirits at Chiang Mai Municipality Office.

09.00 - 10.00    Worshipping the Three Kings Monument  at the Three Kings Monument.

10.30 - 11.30    Worshipping King Kabilaprom at the Chiang Mai Municipality Office.

Friday, April 13, 2012

06.00 - 08.00    Offering alms to monks at Thapae Gate.

07.00 - 12.00    Songkran parade from the TAT office on the Ping River to Thapae Gate.

08.00 - 08.30    The official opening of Chiang Mai Sonkran Festival at Thapae Gate.

13.30 - 18.00    Songkran and Phra Buddha Singh blessing parade from Sanpakoi to Wat Phra Singh

Saturday, April 14, 2012

15.00 - 17.00    Take sand to the temple ceremony parade from the Iron bridge over the Ping River along to Thapae Road.

End of the festival

Special Songkran Festival Package!!!!!!!!!

Old Songkran Festival in Chiang Mai (Credit: Boonserm Satrabhaya)

Songkran Chiang Mai, Tha Pae Gate, 1954	Songkran on Tha Pae Road, 1954	Songkran at the Nawarat Bridge, Chiang Mai, 1964
Foreigners are throwing water on songkran Day, Tha Pae Road, 1954	Foreigners are throwing water on songkran Day, Tha Pae Road, 1954	Teenage girls on Songkran Day carrying silver water bowls.
Beautiful ladies creating a sand pagoda at the Buddha Sathan, Chiang Mai on Songkran Day	The parade and dancers in the Songkran Festival,Chiang Mai, at the Thapae Gate intersection (the present Thapae plaza). The coconut trees in the picture have been replaced by the Montri Hotel. On the far lefts is Rachadamnoen Road. Taken on April 13, 1954	Songkran Chiang Mai, the traditional dancers in the parade in front of Wat Uppakhut before being replaced by the Buddha Sathan. Open for people to sprinkle holy water on the Buddha images on songkran Day, 1954.