The Songkran festival (Thai: สงกรานต์, pronounced [sǒŋ.krāːn], listen; is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year's Day from 13 to 15 April. The word "Songkran" comes from the Sanskrit word saṃkrānti,[1] or literally "astrological passage") meaning transformation or change. It coincides with the rising of Aries on the astrological chart,[2] the New Year of many calendars of South and Southeast Asia. The festive occasion is in keeping with the Buddhist/Hindu solar calendar.