: Diary :

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Songkran Festival in my memory / 10 April 2008

When I was young I lived in Saraburi which is a province in central Thailand. I lived in a small remote village and it was a simple life. My parents are farmers and I have a brother. We stayed next to grandmother and some relatives and we lived close to the nature but far from a city and technology. Our houses are not far from a mountain and around our houses are our farms. There is a temple around 2 kilometers from the village and a school is located beside the temple.

Every morning, I cycled with other girls and boys from the village to the school and I took lunch with me. Not many things happened during normal days but it would be very funny when some special days were coming, for example Songkran festival etc. because that meant we would not go to school and have funny things to enjoy.

So when April is coming, the weather is very hot. That time I thought about the coming Songkran festival, so soon we would have a long holiday, go to the temple to give alms and food to monks, meet our relatives, throw water on others etc. Songkran is the Thai traditional New Year and a national holiday and we usually celebrate the festival on April, 13th – 15th every year. At this time many people who go to work on other places travel back to their home villages and it is also a family time. Some people make New Year resolutions - to refrain from bad behavior and to do good things.

A few days before the festival, my mother, grandmother and aunts discussed and planned what we should take to the temple but my cousins and I were busy preparing things to play at the temple and we started to throw water on each other a bit before Songkran day began. The day before Songkran day, mom went to the farm to collect what she could use to cook, for example vegetables, coconuts etc. and she went to a grocery shop in the village to buy some meat and other things. We had no refrigerator so mom cooked some meat a bit that evening.

April 13th, mom woke up around 5 AM to prepare all food then she woke me up to take a shower and we dressed in nice clothes. Around 7 AM, people in the village started to go to the temple by walking, cycle, motorcycle. If someone had a car they would take others with them. My parents and I went to the temple with an old motorcycle. Mom carried the food and I carried a bowl and soft-prepared chalk powder. Many times, dad rode the motorcycle back to take someone who went to the temple by walking.

When we were at the temple, we went directly to the kitchen in the temple to set all food on the dishes and then put rice into alms-bowls that were placed on the table outside the kitchen. After that we went to the temple pavilion which is next to the kitchen. My mom chose to sit beside her friends and dad sat beside his friends. They talked about many things while waiting for the monks so it was very noisy in the temple pavilion. Other kids and I could not sit still inside so we went to play outside and bought some snacks or meatballs or sausages to eat in a grocery shop next to the temple.

Around 8 AM, the temple pavilion was filled and the monks were coming and then some kids went in the temple pavilion but some kids still played around outside. The monks started to pray and we listened. After that, guys went to take food and alms-bowls and gave to the monks. After the monks had the food we gave alms to the monks then the monks gave blessing to us then it was finished. Mom changed some food with her friends and it was time to go back home.

In the village it was lively and some houses had a party with their relatives. We had also. My relatives that stayed in other villages went to grandfather’s house and we had lunch together. I played with my cousins by throwing water on each other while my parents talked with the relatives then my dad went to the farm to take some coconuts or vegetables or bananas or whatever he had and gave to the relatives to take home.

In the evening, we had dinner and listened to the radio about Songkran festival in other areas in Thailand. After that, my mom and I rode the motorcycle to the temple to enjoy a temple fair. It was on the field beside the temple. There were Thai traditional dramatic, open-air movies, raffle, many food shops located around the area etc. My mom and I enjoyed eating noodle soup and watching open-air movies. We took a mat with us and sat with my aunts’ family and some neighbors in front of a big screen. I ate boiled peanuts or meatballs or something else and drank some coca-cola while watching the movies. We did not have a television at home and could not afford to go to a cinema in a city far away so it was a great time for us. We went back home after midnight and I went into my mosquito net directly and fell asleep so quickly.

April 14th, in the morning and in the evening was the same as the 1st day but in the afternoon, we had special activities. We listened to a sermon about Songkran history and some prophesies of that year from a monk. After that, we poured a small amount of the water mixed with Thai fragrance gently over the image of the Buddha, on the hands of the monks and on the hands or shoulders of old people from the village as a sign of respect. We believed that doing this would bring good luck and prosperity for the New Year because people believe that water will wash away bad luck. The monks and the old people gave blessings to us. After that, mostly kids and young boys and girls just played around at the temple by throwing water on each other.

April 14th is also a family day. My relatives, my parents and I went to grandmother’s house and had a party together. Women cooked some food in the kitchen, men sat and talked. After we had lunch, the men prepared the place for pouring the water mixed with Thai fragrance gently over grandmother. Grandmother gave us blessing and we gave some money and new clothes to her. Then grandmother dressed herself with the new clothes. It was a long day of the year and all of us were happy. Some relatives stayed overnight with grandmother and went to the temple together on the next day.

April 15th, it was the same as the 1st day. All 3 days my cousins and I played around by throwing water on each other. The weather was very hot so it was nice to be wet all day! I did not want Songkran festival to finish because it was so funny and happy and it was the great time of the year. After Songkran had gone, my cousins and I still threw water on each other for a few days. We went to the school and the days were normal again and we were waiting for a next special day.

By Yui in Lund : April 10th, 2008