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5 Apr, 2016

Campaign to Promote Thainess and Water Saving during Songkran Celebration 2016

Bangkok, 2 April 2016, (Thailand PRD News) – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) has launched a campaign to promote Thainess and water saving during the Songkran celebration 2016. It has also announced the arrangements of special activities to celebrate Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year, in Bangkok and other parts of the country.

The TAT Deputy Governor for Tourism Products and Business, Mr. Visanu Jaroensilp, said that TAT is encouraging both Thai people and foreign visitors to join this festival in upholding the true taste of how Songkran is celebrated traditionally. This includes making merit and listening to temple sermons, purifying or bathing Buddha statues, and pouring water onto the hands of elders to show respect and seek their New Year blessings.

“We would also like to urge revelers to wear proper attire or traditional Thai costumes or fabric, and to just sprinkle scented water over each other, instead of throwing water aggressively or using high-pressure water guns. We believe this will help engage everyone to collaborate in helping to preserve Thailand’s unique cultural heritage for years to come.”

He said that the grand Songkran celebration arranged for 2016 would be the biggest to date. The opening ceremony in Bangkok will showcase Thailand’s cultural diversity and the heritage of each region, so that Thai and foreign visitors can plan their trips accordingly and choose where in Thailand to celebrate.

The “Songkran Splendours: The Procession of Three Kingdoms,” will be held on 10 April, from 15.00 – 18.00 hr, and will go through some of the most historic parts of Bangkok, starting from the Maha Chetsadabodin Pavilion through Ratchadamnoen Avenue to the Nakharaphirom Park on Maha Rat Road.

The parades will showcase some of the cultural elements of the unique Maha Songkran processions while telling some of the stories and myths behind the Thai New Year. Spectators will have the chance to learn how the Songkran celebration has changed over the years and from region to region.

The Procession of Three Kingdoms will showcase the glory of the Kingdom of Rama III and celebrate wondrous creatures from Thai mythology as depicted on the walls of Wat Pho. The Kingdom of Rama V the Great procession will focus on 13 April, which is known as the Songkran Day in Thailand and celebrate its traditions. Finally the Kingdom of Rama VII procession will showcase how Songkran celebration has spread around the world.

Following the three-kingdom processions, there will be a colorful parade of Songkran traditions from five regions of Thailand.

TAT also gives its support to stage grand events of Songkran celebration in several major tourist destinations. – Bangkok, Samut Prakan, Kanchanaburi, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Nakhon Phanom, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ayutthaya, Suphan Buri, Nong Khai, Chon Buri, Khon Kaen, Phuket, Songkhla (Hat Yai), and Surat Thani (Ko Samui).