Thai New Year, also known as Songkran (Thai: สงกรานต์, pronounced [sǒŋ.krāːn]), or the Songkran Festival (Songkran Splendours), is the Thai New Year's national holiday. It is celebrated annually on 13 April, with the holiday period extending from 14 to 15 April.
The festival aligns with New Year celebrations observed in many South and Southeast Asian cultures, following the Theravada Buddhist calendar, and coincides with related observances in the Hindu calendar.
In Thailand, the New Year is officially observed on 1 January. Songkran was the official New Year until 1888, when it was changed to 1 April, before being shifted to 1 January in 1940. The traditional Thai New Year, Songkran, remains a national holiday. Celebrations are known for public water fights, which symbolize ritual cleansing. The festival has become popular among international visitors and contributes significantly to tourism.
In 2024, UNESCO certified Songkran as part of humanity's intangible cultural heritage list.
Songkran is a Thai word, derived from Sanskrit Saṅkrānti (संक्रान्ति), meaning "to move", "movement", "the passing of", or "astrological passage". The term refers to the movement of the sun from one position to another in the zodiac.
In Sanskrit usage, a saṅkrānti occurs monthly; however, in Thailand, the term Songkran specifically refers to the period when the sun moves from Pisces to Aries. This period is more precisely known as Maha Songkran ("great Songkran"), marking the traditional New Year.
The Songkran festival is therefore a celebration of the New Year based on the solar calendar. The festivities traditionally span three days: 13 April, known as Maha Songkran (Thai: วันมหาสงกรานต์), marks the sun's entry into Aries and the end of the old year; 14 April, called Wan Nao (Thai: วันเนา), is the transitional day; and 15 April, Wan Thaloeng Sok (Thai: วันเถลิงศก "to begin a new era or year"), is observed as New Year's day.
In 1989, the Thai cabinet fixed the dates of Songkran to 12–14 April, despite the traditionally calculated starting time being 13 April at 20:57. Historically, Songkran was determined using the method described in Suriyayart (Thai: สุริยยาตร์), the Thai adaptation of the Surya Siddhanta. The festival begins when the Sun enters Aries in the sidereal zodiac system, an event known as Maha Songkran Day (Thai: วันมหาสงกรานต์).
The final day marks the beginning of the new solar year and is called Wan Thaloengsok Day (Thai: วันเถลิงศก). During this period, astrologers, both local and royal, make predictions about the economy, agriculture, rainfall, and political affairs based on observations made between these days.
On behalf of the monarch, the king or the Chief Royal Astrologer issued an official New Year announcement to the public. This proclamation, known as Prakat Songkran (Thai: ประกาศสงกรานต์, Songkran notification), included details about Songkran, Thaloengsok, the lunisolar calendar, as well as religious and royal ceremonies. The government adhered strictly to this announcement and organized certain ceremonies in accordance with the royal astrologer's calculations.
According to the scripture, 800 years equal 292,207 days. In other words, a solar year consists of 292,207 kammaja (Thai: กัมมัช; lit. "that which is produced by karma"), where 1 kammaja equals 108 seconds and 800 kammaja correspond to one solar day. Timekeeping begins with the start of the Kali Yuga in 3102 BCE (−3101 CE).
At the beginning of each year, the number of days elapsed since the start of the Kali Yuga can be calculated using the following formula:
{\displaystyle SD={\frac {292207\times \left(KE\right)}{800}}={\frac {292207\times \left(CE+3101\right)}{800}}={\frac {292207\times \left(BE+2558\right)}{800}},}
denote the Kali Era, Common Era, and Buddhist Era, respectively.
is the Suriyayart day number, which varies depending on the calendar era used. The integer part represents the number of days at New Year's Day, while the remainder indicates the time at which the new year begins, measured in kammaja from the previous midnight.
Because the resulting day number is very large, additional calendar eras were introduced to simplify calculations, including the Minor Era (ME). Year 0 ME corresponds to 1181 BE, 638 CE, or 3739 KE. Substituting this into the formula gives 1,365,702 days since the start of the Kali Yuga, with a remainder of 373 kammaja. This means the new year began 373/800 of a day after midnight, or 11 hours, 11 minutes, and 24 seconds. In the proleptic Gregorian calendar, this corresponds to 11:11:24 on Sunday, 25 March 638 CE.
The Julian day of the New Year can be computed as:
{\displaystyle JD_{\mathrm {newyear} }={\frac {\left(292207\times ME\right)+373}{800}}+1954167.5={\frac {\left(292207\times \left(CE-638\right)\right)+373}{800}}+1954167.5,}