Songkran or Water Festival is Thai New Year captures the imagination of travellers for both its cultural and fun attributes; the latter being enthusiastic bouts of water splashing between friends and relatives.

In Bangkok, the Songkran Water Festivals 2013 will be held between Date 13 and 16 April around the Rattanakosin Island district.

The main celebrations, in the capital, focus on bathing rites of replicas of revered Buddha images originating from various provinces in the North, South, East and central regions, interspersed with traditional food and dessert-making demonstrations and cultural performances.
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While the water splashing will flourish, the traditional values of Songkran are the focus of the 2009 celebrations.

Songkran is without doubt the most popular of all Thai festivals and rightly so.
It marks the beginning of a new astrological year and its exact dates are determined by the old lunar calendar of Siam.

This year the three-day festival falls on 13 – 15 April 2009.

There are other opportunities to join in Songkran festivities regardless of where you are travelling.

In the North:
Chiang Saen Water Festival runs from 13 to 21 April, in Chiang Saen district of Chiang Rai province. In the Golden Triangle area, where the borders of Thailand, Laos and Myanmar meet, a ceremony, during the day, will pay homage to the town’s Buddha image. In the evening, the visitors can join a Lanna-style dinner, known as Khan Tok, or shop for handicrafts on a street closed to traffic, also the venue for folk dance performances.

Si Satchanalai Water Festival, from 13 to 15 April, at Si Satchanalai district, Sukhothai province, features parades and water splashing in the Si Satchanalai Historical Park.  The town is 67 km north of Sukhothai and is a popular stop on Around North Thailand tours.

Northeast
Thai-Lao Water Festival, from 13 to 17 April, plays out on the banks of the Mekong River in Nong Khai town that faces Laos and its capital, Vientiane. Sports competitions will be organized in the week preceding the festival.

Koon Flower and Sticky Rice Road and Water Festival  in Khon Kaen province, features parades, performances and water splashing on Si Chan Road, known as sticky rice road for its profusion of vendors selling this staple northeast food.

Ubon Ratchathani Water Festival, in the city centre, will feature a Thai-Indochina Food Festival at Thung Si Mueang Park, which will sell specialty dishes and food items representative of Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia.

Nakhon Phanom Water Festival has an unusual theme of noodles.  The main event will be held on Sinthorn Vichit Road or Khao Pun Road (rice flour noodle road) where booths will sell products and dishes made of rice flour noodles, the specialty of this province.

Central
Bangkok Water Festival gets underway,12 April, with a sound and light show at  Arun Ratchawararam Temple, from 1800 to 2100. This year, the city will focus on a traditional style Songkran Festival by supporting and inviting people to make merit at temples and return to their villages up-country to be with their families. Water splashing on streets in the business district will be discouraged.
However, the city is promoting its “Passport to nine royal temples” for those who visit temples during the festival, with an incentive to win prizes. Water splashing will be encouraged only in specific areas such as Khao Sarn Road.

Phrapadaeng Water Festival, which follows different dates than most of the celebrations, will be hosted, 18 to 20 April, in front of Phrapradaeng district office, Samut Prakarn province. There will be parades, Thai-Mon traditional sports and performances.

Eastern seaboard
Bangsaen Water Festival, 16 to 17 April, is held a week after national celebrations at Bangsaen beach in Chonburi province. A competition to determine the most artistic sand pagoda takes centre stage with more than 100 miniature pagodas sculptured from the sand.

Pattaya Water Festival follows on from Bangsaen, 17 to 20 April. The water splashing celebration first moves to Na-Klua, a  village just north of Pattaya, 18 April, Pattaya beach, 19 April and finally moving, 20 April, to  Sattahip, a fishing and Naval town on the eastern seaboard.

South
Ranong Mineral Water Festival runs from 12 to 15 April, at Raksawarin Public Park in the centre of Ranong town, located on the Andaman Sea coast, some 300 km north of Phuket.
Here, people will enjoy the luxury of splashing mineral water on one another following the style witnessed in Myanmar’s traditional festivities. Also, during the four days, there will be booths selling tourism products and packages to Ranong province and other Andaman coast destinations.

Hat Yai Midnight Songkran, will be hosted 12 to 14 April, at Nipat Uthit Road in Hat Yai district, Songkhla province. The water splashing will start from 22:00, 12 April to midnight on 13 April. Ceremonies to sprinkle water on the town’s Buddha images will be conducted on the mornings of 13 and 14 April.

Chinese New Year Festival
January or February
This is the most important event on the Chinese calendar. The Chinese new Year is not on the same day as the western New Year. The Chinese New Year is consistent with the Chinese lunar Month. It falls on the twelfth lunar month. Or according to the Chinese calendar, it falls on the first, second and third waxing moon of the second lunar moon month. These dates are equivalent to approximately the month of January of February. At present, the Thai-Chinese descendants have got together to create a new legend for China Town as “The biggest Celebration of Chinese New Year – China Town a place that never sleeps”. During this grand festival, the whole of Yaowarat road will be closed and many stores and food stands will crowd the road. This is the opportunity for many Thais and foreigners to gather and walk to taste all the authentic Chinese food. And last but not least, are the grandiose and colorful Chinese lion and dragon processions.

Bangkok Songkran Festival
April 12-14
The Traditional Thai New Year is an occasion for merriment all over the city, but most notably at Sanam Luang, near the Grand palace, where the revered Phra Phuttha Sihing image is displayed and bathed by devotees. In the Wisutkasat area, a Miss Songkran beauty contest is held and accompanied by merit-making and entertainment. Khao San Road, Bang Lamphu area is also one of the high-spots in the city to experience the water-throwing activities between locals and tourists.

Royal Ploughing Ceremony
May
An ancient Brahman ritual, conducted at Sanam Luang, in which farmers believe, is able to forecast the abundance of the next rice crop. The event is a result of ceremonies that are conducted by Phraya Raek Na, portrayed by a hight-ranking official from the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives who wears colorful traditional costumes. This ceremony was re-introduced in 1960 by H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej and is considered the official commencement of the rice-growing season.

H.M. The Queen’s Birthday Celebration
August 12
To display their loyalty and to hour Her Majesty Queen Sirikit on the occasion of her royal birthday, the Thai people decorate their houses and public buildings. Around Bangkok, Ratchadamnoen Avenue, the area around the Grand Palace and other well-known locations are bedecked with colored lights and magnificent adornments.

Trooping of the Colors
December
Their majesties the King and Queen preside over this impressive annual event, held in the Royal Plaza near the equestrian statue of King Chulalongkorn. Dressed in colorful uniforms, amid much pomp and ceremony, members of the elite Royal Guards swear allegiance to the King and march past members of the Royal Family.

H.M. The King’s Birthday Celebrations
December 5
H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej, the world’s longest reigning monarch is well beloved and deeply respected by all Thais old and young. The occasion of his royal birthday provides his loyal subjects the opportunity to express their reverence for him. All over the country, buildings and homes are elaborated and the area around the Grand Palace is spectacularly illuminated.