Songkran Activities

Offering food to monksOn the dawn of the first day of the incoming year, people will prepare the best varieties of food to offer to monks. They will also dress up in their best attire. After giving alms to monks, monks will eat the offered food in a temple hall. People will go home after monks finish their meal.

There is no specific date for making sand pagodas. Itcan be done on any days close to Songkran in temple grounds or on a riverbank. People in Kamphaengphet province also make offerings to monks on a riverbank. People in Nakhon Si Thammarat build their sand pagodas twice; first in a temple on the last day of the outgoing year, and then in the grounds of their houses on the first day of the incoming year. Sand used for building pagodas is often taken from a riverbank.

Releasing birds and fishThis tradition began a long time ago and it is normally done during the Songkran festival. Before the festival, the weather is usually very warm and there is not enough water in ponds and rivers for fish to dwell; as a result, people will go out to catch fish in dry ponds. Small fish which cannot be eaten will be kept at home until Songkran when there is more water, and then they will be released back to their natural habitat. This tradition has evolved over time and is widely practiced nowadays. At present, in addition to fish, people also free birds as an act of merit-making.

Song Nam, Rot Nam, and Sat Nam To bathe a Buddha image, people will first make an offering of flowers, candles, and incense sticks to the image. Then they will sprinkle lustral water signifying bathing onto the image as a gesture of respect. A procession of the Buddha image will be made prior to the bathing. After that people will also bathe a Buddhist monk, usually the chief monk, by pouring lustral water over him. The chief monk will change into a new robe offered to him by laymen, then he will give a sermon and bless people who attend these bathing rituals. Besides, people will also call on elders and respected ones to ask for their blessings. After that, people will play by splashing water at one another. A feast in the temple grounds will follow. Traditional desserts will be served there.The Songkran festival is very much related to water, since people believe that water splashing will induce abundant rainfall in the incoming year. Water is also a symbol of fertility and is used to clean up bad things. As a result, water is used widely in different ceremonies and rites of passage.

Rod Nam Dam HuaPeople in Northwest Thailand conduct the bathingritual to the elders and respected ones on New Year’s Day. Apart from flowers, candles, incense sticks, and new clothes, betel nuts, Acacia water, and traditional perfume are also part of the gifts presented. Betel nut is a symbol of respect and hospitality. In the old days, Acacia water was used as soap. Once the elders receive the gifts, they will sprinkle the Acacia water and the perfume on top of the younger family members’ heads to give them blessings.
Nowadays, some people still bring their new clothes and personal belongings along with other ritual objects, such as banana, sugarcane, and jackfruit leaves, to the temple so that Buddhist monks can sprinkle them with holy water in order to purify the clothes. These clothes and objects will be kept untouched for days for auspiciousness