What an amazing end to Term 2, with the celebration of the Thai festival of Songkran last Friday.
Written by: Chatpapha Leearee
We were privileged to welcome nine monks to the campus, where students and staff had the opportunity to make offerings to them, receive blessings and have holy water sprinkled on them by the monks. This is a very important traditional activity for Thai people during Songkran. The purpose of this is to show respect, appreciation and love, extending best wishes for the coming year.
If you are new to Thailand, Songkran festival is the traditional Thai New Year’s Day and is celebrated from 13th to 15th April. It is the historic New Year's Day for Thai citizens, and has been celebrated this way for hundreds of years, as part of Thai culture.
Traditionally spring cleaning is a major aspect of Songkran. Part of the ritual is the cleaning of Buddha images; bathing and blessing the elder family members; building sand pagodas; praying and giving food to monks; and freeing animals.
Using the ‘blessed’ water after cleaning the images to soak other people is seen as a way of paying respect and bringing good fortune. April is the hottest part of the year in Thailand, so being soaked is a refreshing escape from the heat and humidity.
In the annual Regents Songkran water fight, all our teachers, students and staff dressed up in bright colourful floral shirts, to splash water on each other. As you can imagine, this was enormous fun and enjoyed by everyone! This is a great way to end the term.
Whilst Regents values the importance of teaching and learning, we also believe that understanding and celebrating other cultures is vitally important. Non-Thai students benefitted from learning more about the traditions and values of their new country, broadening their horizons and expanding their cultural appreciation. In a school as diverse as Regents, this is one of the most important life lessons that we can teach our students.
Happy Songkran!
