Thai New Year,Ach Vidyagama (George Bradley McFarland), Phra. (1944). "สงกรานต์", Thai-English Dictionary. CA, United States: Stanford University Press. 1,058 pp. Glen Lewis. (2007). "Thai tourism take 1: a land of diversity and refinement", Virtual Thailand The Media and Cultural Politics in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore (Rethinking Southeast Asia). NY, United States: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group (T&F Informa plc.). 241 pp. . "April 'Songkran Splendours' (Thai New Year, nationalwide)" also known as Songkran (, ), or the Songkran Festival (Songkran Splendours),Anuman Rajadhon (Yong Sathirakoses), Phraya. (1956). Loy Krathong and Songkran Festival. Bangkok: National Culture Institute Thailand. p. 13. "SONGKRAN FESTIVAL Of all the feasts and festivals in Thailand which are many..." Ministry of Education Thailand, Office of the National Culture Commission. (1989). Thai Culture: Songkran Festival. Bangkok: Ministry of Education Thailand. 33 pp.. "Songkran Festival" issued by the Office of the National Culture Commission is the third of its series . The aim of this cultural kit is to present Thai culture to the general public and thereby to create mutual understanding" is the Thai New Year's national holiday. It is celebrated annually on 13 April, with the holiday period extending from 14 to 15 April.
The festival aligns with New Year celebrations observed in many South and Southeast Asian cultures, following the Theravada Buddhist calendar, and coincides with related observances in the Hindu calendar.
In Thailand, the New Year is officially observed on 1 January. Songkran was the official New Year until 1888, when it was changed to 1 April, before being shifted to 1 January in 1940. The traditional Thai New Year, Songkran, remains a national holiday. Celebrations are known for public water fights, which symbolize ritual cleansing. The festival has become popular among international visitors and contributes significantly to tourism.
In 2024, UNESCO certified Songkran as part of humanity's intangible cultural heritage list.
Etymology Songkran is a Thai word,V. S. Bhaskar, Government of Assam, India. (2009). "Festivals: Songkran", Faith & Philosophy of Buddhism. New Delhi, India: Kalpaz Publications. 312 pp. pp. 261-262. . "Songkran is a Thai word which means 'move'..." Taipei City Government, Taiwan (ROC). (2008). Teipei: 2008 Yearbook. [臺北市年鑑2008-英文版 (In Chinese)]. Taipei: Taipei City Government Editorial Group. 386 pp. . p. 269. "(Songkran) is in April, and Thai people celebrate their new year by splashing water at each other, hence the Thai name Songkran, i.e., "Water Splashing Festival." Rooney, Dawn F. (2008). Ancient Sukhothai: Thailand's Cultural Heritage. Bangkok: River Books Press. 247 pp. . p. 36. "'Songkran' is a Thai name that derives from a Sanskrit word meaning 'to move to', a reference to the sun's movements. Komlosy, A. (2002). Images Of The Dai : The Aesthetics Of Gender And Identity In Xishuangbanna. [Doctoral Dissertation, University of St. Andrews]. University of St. Andrews Research Repository. 'https://hdl.handle.net/10023/7293'. p. 334. "The term Songkran is a Thai word meaning to move, here it refers to the Sun which moves into the sign of Aries at this time of the year". pp. 334–335. "The Thai term Songkran is now used by many Southeast Asia specialists to refer to the New Year festival held in many countries, including Myanmar, Laos and China." "Songkran" (noun) in Oxford English Dictionary (Online). Retrieved on 17 April 2024. Anouska Komlosy. "Procession and Water Splashing: Expressions of Locality and Nationality during Dai New Year in Xishuangbanna: Songkran", The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 10(2). (2004, June). London: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. JSTOR #i370994. p. 357. "The term Songkran is a Thai word meaning 'to move', and it refers here to the Sun, which moves into the sign of Aries at this time of the year." Prakong Nimmanahaeminda, Academy of Arts, Royal Society of Thailand. "Myth and Ritual : A Study of the Songkran Festival", The Journal of The Royal Society of Thailand, 29(1–2), (2004, January–March). pp. 345–350. "Songkran is a Thai word which means of movement." Malaysia, Jabatan Perpaduan Negara Dan Integrasi Nasional (JPNIN). (1985). Festivals and religious occasions in Malaysia. (First series). Kuala Lumpur: The National Unity Department of Malaysia, Prime Minister's Dept. 36 pp. p. 26. "'SONGKRAN' is a Traditional New Year of the Thai people and this day normally fulls in the month of April. 'SONGKRAN' is a Thai word meaning change of exchange." Sir. Philip John Newling Ward, Maj. Gen. (1974). "THE SONGKRAN FESTIVAL", Bangkok: Portrait of a City. Cambridge, United Kingdom: The Oleander Press. 136 pp. p. 111. . "Thai word ' Songkran ' literally means a move or change". James Hastings, John Alexander Selbie, Louis Herbert Gray. (1912). "FESTIVALS AND FACTS (Siamese)", Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics Vol. 5. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 886. derived from Sanskrit Saṅkrānti (),Oxford Business Group (OBG). (2011). "Water wars: The traditional Thai New Year includes some playful activities", The Report: Thailand 2012. (n.p.): Oxford Business Group. 268 pp. p. 260. meaning "to move", "movement", "the passing of",Epstein, N., and Arvigo, R. (2021). Spiritual Bathing: Healing Rituals and Traditions from Around the World (eBook). (n.p.): Echo Point Books & Media, LLC. 192 pp. or "astrological passage".Bartlett, S. (2015). Spellcraft for a Magical Year: Rituals and Enchantments for Prosperity, Power, and Fortune. United States: Quarto Publishing Group USA. 224 pp. The term refers to the movement of the sun from one position to another in the zodiac.
In Sanskrit usage, a saṅkrānti occurs monthly; however, in Thailand, the term Songkran specifically refers to the period when the sun moves from Pisces to Aries. This period is more precisely known as Maha Songkran ("great Songkran"),Corness, I. (2015). "Songkran", Farang: Thailand through the eyes of an ex-pat (eBook). Dublin, Ireland: Maverick House. 240 pp. marking the traditional New Year.
The Songkran festival is therefore a celebration of the New Year based on the solar calendar. The festivities traditionally span three days: 13 April, known as Maha Songkran (), marks the sun's entry into Aries and the end of the old year; 14 April, called Wan Nao (), is the transitional day; and 15 April, Wan Thaloeng Sok ( "to begin a new era or year"), is observed as New Year's day.
Dates In 1989, the Thai cabinet fixed the dates of Songkran to 12–14 April, despite the traditionally calculated starting time being 13 April at 20:57.ราชกิจจานุเบกษา, ประกาศสำนักนายกรัฐมนตรี เรื่อง กำหนดเวลาทำงานและวันหยุดราชการ (ฉบับที่ ๑๙) พ.ศ. ๒๕๔๐, เล่ม ๑๑๔, ตอนที่ ๒๖ ง, ๑ เมษายน ๒๕๔๐ (Cabinet notification on workdays and holidays, 1997)The cabinet later fixed this issue by shifting the holiday by one day to 13–15 April, which is still in use today. Historically, Songkran was determined using the method described in Suriyayart (), the Thai adaptation of the Surya Siddhanta. The festival begins when the Sun enters Aries in the sidereal zodiac system, an event known as Maha Songkran Day ().Yavaprapas, S., Ministry of Culture (Thailand). (2004). Songkran Festival. (2nd Ed.). Bangkok: Prachoomthong Printing Group Co., Ltd. Crump, William D. (2016). "Thailand", Encyclopedia of New Year's Holidays Worldwide. NC, United States: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. 319 pp. Office of the National Culture Commission. (1989). Thai Culture: Songkran Festival Cultural Kit No. 3. Bangkok: Ministry of Education Thailand. 33 pp.
The final day marks the beginning of the new solar year and is called Wan Thaloengsok Day (). During this period, astrologers, both local and royal, make predictions about the economy, agriculture, rainfall, and political affairs based on observations made between these days.
On behalf of the monarch, the king or the Chief Royal Astrologer issued an official New Year announcement to the public. This proclamation, known as Prakat Songkran (, Songkran notification), included details about Songkran, Thaloengsok, the lunisolar calendar, as well as religious and royal ceremonies.For example, ราชกิจจานุเบกษา, ประกาศสงกรานต์ ร.ศ. ๑๑๐ พ.ศ.๒๔๓๔, เล่ม ๘, ๑๒ เมษายน ๒๔๓๔ (1891 Notification on Songkran) The government adhered strictly to this announcement and organized certain ceremonies in accordance with the royal astrologer's calculations.ราชกิจจานุเบกษา, พระราชพิธีเผด็จศกสงกรานต์, เล่มที่ ๑๖, ๑๖ เมษายน ๒๔๔๒, หน้า ๓๕ (Songkran and cutting off the year ceremony in 1899)ราชกิจจานุเบกษา, กำหนดการพระราชพิธีสงกรานต์ พ.ศ.๒๔๙๒, ตอนที่ ๒๒, เล่ม ๖๖, ๑๒ เมษายน ๒๔๙๒ (Songkran royal ceremony schedule, 1949)In 1896, for example, the ceremony started on 12 April. According to Suriyayart, the sun entered Aries at 19:30 on 12 April. The main ceremony started one day later, possibly due to difficulties organizing the ceremony at the exact time. In 1949, Maha Songkran was on 13 April at 12:35 and the ceremony started that day.
According to the scripture, 800 years equal 292,207 days.According to Sloka 37, there are 1,577,917,828 solar (or terrestrial, as the translator chose) day within one great Yuga, or eon. There are four yugas, or periods, within the aeon. All of them spans 4,320,000 solar years (Sloka 15–16). It follows that 800 solar years correspond to 292,207 days. In other words, a solar year consists of 292,207 kammaja (; lit. "that which is produced by karma"), where 1 kammaja equals 108 seconds and 800 kammaja correspond to one solar day. Timekeeping begins with the start of the Kali Yuga in 3102 BCE (−3101 CE).
At the beginning of each year, the number of days elapsed since the start of the Kali Yuga can be calculated using the following formula: (Aeur Montianthong and Bunnak Thongniam's Suriyayat Sivakom for Computer Users, in Thai) (Singto Suriya-arak's How to and how not to set the ceremonial time and how to compute a detailed Suriyayart natal chart, in Thai)
where , , and denote the Kali Era, Common Era, and Buddhist Era, respectively. is the Suriyayart day number, which varies depending on the calendar era used. The integer part represents the number of days at New Year's Day, while the remainder indicates the time at which the new year begins, measured in kammaja from the previous midnight.
Because the resulting day number is very large, additional calendar eras were introduced to simplify calculations, including the Minor Era (ME). Year 0 ME corresponds to 1181 BE, 638 CE, or 3739 KE. Substituting this into the formula gives 1,365,702 days since the start of the Kali Yuga, with a remainder of 373 kammaja. This means the new year began 373/800 of a day after midnight, or 11 hours, 11 minutes, and 24 seconds. In the proleptic Gregorian calendar, this corresponds to 11:11:24 on Sunday, 25 March 638 CE.
The Julian day of the New Year can be computed as:
This value can then be converted into a calendar date using a standard algorithm (see Julian day). Maha Songkran Day may be determined either through a more complex procedure or by subtracting 2.165 days (2 days, 3 hours, 57 minutes, and 36 seconds) from . This yields:
A solar year equals 292,207 kammaja or 365.25875 days. By comparison, a Gregorian year averages 292,194 kammaja.Julian year lasts 292,200 kammajas on average The difference of 13 kammaja (23 minutes, 24 seconds) accumulates annually, causing Songkran to shift later in the calendar year. For example, Maha Songkran fell on 7 April in 1600, 9 April in 1700, 10 April in 1800, 12 April in 1900, and 13 April in 2000.