SONGKRAN IN THAILAND

Some of our friends in Denmark have asked what SongKran actually is and how it is celebrated in Thailand, so here are a few answers. The word SongKran, which you may spell in one or two words comes from The Sanskrit language and marks the entrance into a new solar year, the summer starts. The dates are firm, from the 13th to 15th of April. In the old times the Thai calendar was adjusted to our calendar system in the West (The Gregorian) on the 13th of April but in 1940 the government decided to make the adjustment on January 1st. But still the Thai calendar follows the Buddhist Calendar so here we have now today the 16th of April 2543. The Buddhist Era starts 543 years before the Christian era, so we are sometimes a little confused here. On all official documents we use the Thai dating system and on the postage stamp as well, but in banks we used the Christian calendar. This festival, and believe me it is a grand show, is also celebrated in Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos. Just a short introduction to the history or myth about this tradition: