Songkran Festival :Thai New Year in Pattaya city

Songkran Festival is the traditional Thai New Year, it is the time when Thais go the Temples offering food to the Buddhist monks, freeing birds or turtles back into the wild (It is believed if you free a turtle it will give you a longer life), houses are spring-cleaned, scented water is sprinkled on their elders as a sign of respect!

Songkran (don’t mix with Songkrant as this means WAR!) means movement or displacement, refers to the Sun is moving into the New Year. New year days last from April 13th-15th, annually.

April 13th is called Maha Songkran day. April 14th is called Wan Nao, and April 15th is called the beginning of new year day. These may be called differently in the north from region to region, but still easy to understand. For example, April 13th, called Sungkarnlong day, means the old body, mind and spirits of the old year are leaving. April 14th, called Wan Nao, April 15th, called Wan Paya Wan, means a first important day of the New Year.

Songkran days are also without a doubt family days and where possible the families leave the big cities to spend time with their families and pay respect in recognition of everything they did for them. The traditional greeting is 'Sawadee Pi Mai', which means "Happy New Year".

Wan Lai Festival

Songkran Festival - a lot of water As the heat in Thailand intensifies once the month of April comes, Thai ancestors were wise enough to initiate the Songkran Festival as a way to cool off from the heat, celebrating Thai New Year at the same time. In the central region Songkran is usually held on the 13th, 14th and 15th of April whilst in the east the activities commence on the 18th and 19th April as "Wan Lai" (Flowing Day) Jomtien and Pattaya hold their festival on the 19th with activities such as water pouring for the elders, processions and the fun of soaking each other with water, foreigners do not escape they are a prime target.

Visakabucha Day : Important Dates in Buddhist Thailand

The Three Most Important holy days of the year for Thai Buddhists all include the word "Bucha", which means to pay homage. Asaraha Bucha commemorates the day the Lord Buddha preached his first sermon. Makha Bucha marks both the occasion when 1,350 of the Buddha 146’s disciples (monks) gathered without prior notice and listened to the Buddha elaborate some of his most important teachings in a sermon, as well as the day he foresaw his own death and attainment of Nibbana (Nirvana). But the most auspicious of the three is Visakha Bucha, which simultaneously commemorates three important anniversaries in the life of Siddharta Gautama, the Lord Buudha: his birth, his enlightenment, and his death.

The word Visakabucha stands for Visakapoonnameebucha which implies the worship of his Lord Buddha in the middle of the 6th lunar month. Buddhist regard this day as the Lord Buddha’s recalling Day. There occur three incidents related to his Lord Buddha’s life on Visakabucha including his birthday (80 B.C), the enlightenment day (35 B.C.), and the Nirvana day (1 B.C.).

Influenced by Sri Lanka where the King commemorated magnificent Visakabucha ceremony, the ceremony also happened in Thailand during the Sukhothai period because of religious connection between the two countries. However, no evidence of the activity was found during Thonburi and early Ratanakosin period, but in the reign of King Rama II, the ceremony was once again rearranged.

Common activities Buddhist do today fall on merit making: offering food to priest in morning time; behaving themselves according to Buddhism’s Five Percepts, etc. Some of them make a visit to temple to attend the sermon or practice the meditation while some set birds and fish free. And after sunset, the candle lit procession is usually done clockwise around each temple’s church.

On this occasion, a grand religious ceremony is also held at Phuttha Monthon in Nakhon Pathom Province where the statue of the Walking Buddha is located. Here the candle lit procession is usually led by a royal family member. Buddhists from nearby and other provinces can come to take part in the procession.