Thai New Year or Songkran (, ) is the Thai New Year's national holiday. Songkran is on 13 April every year, but the holiday period extends from 14 to 15 April. In 2018 the Thai cabinet extended the festival nationwide to seven days, 9–16 April, to enable citizens to travel home for the holiday. In 2019, the holiday was observed 9–16 April as 13 April fell on a Saturday. The word "Songkran" comes from the Sanskrit word , literally "astrological passage", meaning transformation or change. It coincides with the rising of Aries on the astrological chart and with the New Year of many calendars of Southeast and South Asia, in keeping with the Buddhist and Hindu Calendar. The New Year takes place at around the same time as the new year celebrations of many countries in South Asia like Bangladesh, China (Dai people of Yunnan Province), India (Baisakhi in Punjab, Bengal Gajan Utsav, Bengal Charak Utsav, Bengali New Year (Poyla Baisakh/Nababarsha) in West Bengal and Tripura (Also Buisu/Bishu in Tripura), Bihu in Assam,Gudipadva in Maharashtra, Pana or Mahabisuba Sankranti in Odisha, Tamil Puthaandu (Tamil New Year) in Tamil Naadu, Ugadi in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, Vishu in Kerala etc.), Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Nepal, and Sri Lanka.
In Thailand, New Year is now officially celebrated 1 January. Songkran was the official New Year until 1888, when it was switched to a fixed date of 1 April. Then in 1940, this date was shifted to 1 January. The traditional Thai New Year Songkran was transformed into a national holiday. Celebrations are famous for the public water fights framed as ritual cleansing.
Meaning
Songkran is a term derived from Sanskrit संक्रान्ति saṅkrānti meaning 'to move' or 'movement'. It derives from the movement of the sun from one position to another in the zodiac. According to its literal meaning in Sanskrit, a Songkran occurs every month. However, the period that Thai people refer to as Songkran happens when the sun moves from Pisces to Aries in the zodiac. The correct name for this period should actually be Maha Songkran ('great Songkran) because it coincides with the arrival of a New Year. The Songkran festival is, therefore, a celebration of the New Year in accordance with the solar calendar. The celebration covers a period of three days: 13 April is regarded as Maha Songkran, the day that the sun moves into Aries on the zodiac or the last day of the old year. The next day, 14 April is called Wan Nao, the transitional day between the old and the new years, and 15 April is called Wan Thaloeng Sok ( 'to begin a new era or year'), New Year's day itself.
Computation
In 1989, the Thai cabinet fixed Songkran at 12–14 April, despite the correct starting date (13 April at 20:57). Songkran, however, was traditionally computed according to the method described in Suriyayart (), the Thai version of Surya Siddhanta. The celebration starts when the sun enters Aries according to the sidereal zodiac system. This is called Maha Songkran day (). The final day marks the new solar year and is called Wan Thaloengsok (). The astrologers, local or royal, then make predictions about the economy, agriculture, rainfall, and political affairs according to observations between both days. The king, or Chief Royal Astrologer on the monarch's behalf, issued an official notification on the new year to the public. The announcement, called Prakat Songkran (, Songkran notification), contained the information on Maha Songkran, Thaloengsok, the lunisolar calendar, and religious and royal ceremonies. The government strictly adhered to the announcement and arranged some ceremonies according to the computation made by the royal astrologer.
According to the scripture, 800 years equal 292,207 days. In other words, each solar year lasts 292,207 kammaja (, lit. one produced by karma), where 1 kammaja equals 108 seconds and 800 kammaja corresponds to 1 solar day. Timekeeping began as Kali Yuga started in 3102 BCE (−3101 CE). At the start of each year, it is possible to compute the number of days since Kali Yuga commenced using the following formula:
where , , denote Kali Era, Common Era, and Buddhist Era respectively. is the Suriyayart day number, which can vary according to the calendar era being used. The integer result is the count of days at New Year's Day, while the remainder indicates the time at which the new year begins (in kammaja), measured from the previous midnight.