Thai Songkran date may be changed

If the Culture Ministry of Thailand has its way, the next Songkran festival will not necessarily start on April 13. Wattana Boonchab, an expert at the Culture Ministry, said the ministry is considering reviving a tradition in which Songkran Day is determined with the help of an ancient calendar that is common in most Southeast Asian countries, rather than fixing the date on April 13.

I do not think there is much more commentary necessary, but this is probably a flop just as bad as trying to forbid the sale of alcohol, tight clothes or waterguns on Songkran. Are there still youth in Thailand who are actually still listening to this BS or have they by now totally given up on respecting their elders -- I would not wonder if this is what the Thai policy makers are coming up with #constantly#...

By tradition, Songkran Day is determined based on a suriya yatra sacred book which describes the passing of the sun. Songkran is a Sanskrit word, meaning the passing of the sun from one zodiac to another. The passing happens every month, but the most important passage is in April when the sun leaves Pisces to enter Aries, which traditionally marks the beginning of the new year _ the time when the new harvest season begins. But technically the sun may not immediately enter Aries due to timing changes.

Although a day technically comprises 24 hours, things are different astrologically. There is a lapse before the sun passes into Aries. That Songkran is fixed on April 13 makes people forget the other two important days during the traditional new year. They are wan nao and wan thaloeng sok, which literally means celebration of the new year, on April 15 or April 16, Mr Wattana said. Nao, he said, means stay in Thai. In this sense, it specifically means the lapse of the sun passing.

”That’s exactly the period when the sun is between the two zodiacs. Nao when pronounced by people in the North is a word that gives this particular date an inauspicious meaning. It sounds like the word for rotten so people usually skip this day if they are to hold an important event, to avoid bad luck,” he said. ”But since we no longer recognise wan nao, we inadvertently conduct auspicious ceremonies on an inauspicious day.”

The revival of the tradition will help people know when to avoid this date -- that is, a day between Songkran and wan thaloeng sok. Mr Wattana said wan thaloeng sok this year falls on April 15 and it will fall on April 16 for the next three years. In 2012, it falls again on April 15. After 2012, thaloeng sok will be on April 16 for the next 80 years.

Links of Interest:

• Songkran 2008 image galleries