April festivals: Thailand’s Songkran festival

Traditionally, Songkran was a time for bathing images of the Buddha, and for participating in the ceremony, ‘rod nam dum hua‘, a ceremony for young Thais to seek the blessing of their elders by pouring scented water over their hands.

These days however, things are very different. These days the Songkran festival is a huge water fight – luckily, it’s held during Thailand’s hottest season! For three days everyone is fair game, with hoses, water-filled balloons and high-powered water guns all brought out for the battle.