DRMumbai: Songkran, Thailand’s New Year’s festival, is an event where boisterous fun and ancient traditions go hand-in-hand. For tourists, the event offers a chance to experience the festive fervour as water parties break out in the streets of Thailand’s towns and villages. For locals, it is the time of the year to spend precious time with friends and families and visit the temples to observe ancient rites and make merit. Phra Pradaeng Songkran Festival, scheduled to be held from April 20-22, is one of the most storied festivals in Thailand.
Phra Pradaeng is where the local people observe Mon ceremonies in a customary way, and their New Year traditions are very different to those found in rest of Thailand. The celebrations here take place a little later, and feature a range of cultural activities, including a spectacular floral procession, a parade of the local Mon people in their colourful traditional outfits, a Miss Songkran parade and Mister and Miss Songkran Beauty Contest.
Visitors will also have the chance to join merit-making activities in the local temples, pay respect to community elders and enjoy folk plays and cultural performances. Thailand’s former capital, Ayutthaya, is a place worth visiting during the Songkran festival. The province is inviting both local and foreign tourists to celebrate Songkran in the most unusual and exotic way –elephants splashing water on people in the very Thai environs of the UNESCO World Heritage site of Ayutthaya Historical Park.
Several cultural activities will also be held such as pouring water over the sacred Buddha images, Sand Pagoda Building, and the chance to enjoy the traditional Thai dances with the locals.
For more details, click the link Songkran Festival
