Songkran Festival in Thailand

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Songkran Festival in Thailand
by \| 16-04-2017 21:12 1
On 13-15 April We, Thai people, celebrate Songkran every year. Songkran is traditional Thai New Year's festival and young Thais usually celebrate it by having water fights. We've been celebrating this festival for a long time now, but, the water fights develop over time. In the past, people don't usually waste the water as much as they do now. They say it is fun to do so, but they totally forget about how much water we've wasted. On 13 April 2012, people consumed an additional 100,000 cubic meters of water - presumably for splashing to celebrate Songkran.. And this only showed the usage of the middle area in the country. In 2013, There was a water shortage in the Northeast of the country. 45 provinces in Thailand had been declared disaster areas by the government. However, Songkran still kept going. In 2016, severe drought occurred and got worse, Songkran at Khao San Road was cut to be shorter. Usually, we have water fights for 3 days, but for last year, 2 days were organized for celebration. For sure, Songkran will still keep happening in the future, so I hope Thai people will use water more carefully as the amount is decreasing continuously and water problems can get more severe. Lives need some fun but don't forget that we need the environment as well.

Dormant user

says :
Hi Thanyawee Thongdeephan, Thank you for sharing Songkran Festival with us. First, Festivals were created to share the joy and the hapiness but as we all know that the climate change is real and it's happening and using water in such way is totally unacceptable. I do understand that this is tradition and people may find it normal in your country to use the water in such way, you need to invest in some awareness compain to make them able to see how dangerous is this fastival to the futur of the country. Keep up the great work
Posted 19-04-2017 06:03

Arushi Madan says :
I heard about this festival from my Chinese friend this week. I understand that water holds considerable significance during Songkran and is a vital part of the celebrations as it is used for the ritual cleansing. However, this ritual expands inevitably into a giant fiesta of water splashing. It's really pity that while so many people and places are dying because of lack of water and here people waste it in fun. There are ways to enjoy water festivals responsibly e.g. the festival duration can be cut down to just few hours or half a day rather than 2-3 days. Celebrate Songkran traditionally by sprinkling a small amount of water over the hands rather than splashing generously. Use spray bottles & not water guns. Thanks for sharing the concern.
Posted 19-04-2017 04:34

Rohan Kapur says :
Water is a precious commodity & our heritage also must be preserved. Therefore, optimum water usage may be ensured while celebrating Songkran. Such water should be recycled. Thanks for the report.
Posted 18-04-2017 14:38

says :
Thanyawee, thank you for your report. When traditional customs have problem with environmental issues, the matter gets difficult. We cannot just drop customs that have been going on for ages. However, giving some changes could be an answer just like making Songkran Festival from 3 days to 2 days. I wish the people who organize the festival find other ways as well to make it even more environmental friendly.
Posted 17-04-2017 14:37