Three Days of Songkran: From a Small Cup of Water to a Whole Wet Street — Epoche A2
Songkran is the Thai new year, and for three days in April the whole country plays with water. I spent it with my friend's family in Chiang Mai, and I want to write down what happened, in order, because the order is the point. Day one We went to the temple in the morning. People poured small cups of scented water over the Buddha images, slowly, with two hands. Nobody laughed or shouted. Water here means washing the old year away. Day two We visited the grandparents. My friend knelt down and poured water over their hands, and they said a blessing for him. His grandmother's hands were wet and she was smiling. This is the quiet centre of the festival, and most visitors never see it. Day three The street. Buckets, hoses, plastic water guns, pick-up trucks with a barrel in the back. A boy soaked me from a doorway, said sorry very politely, and then soaked me again. Foreign friends ask me if throwing water at strangers is just bad behaviour. After those three days I do not think so. The gentle pouring on day one and the wild street on day three are the same gesture, only louder. First you wash, then you bless, then you share it with everyone you can reach.