The Songkran festival is the Thai New Year's festival. The Thai New Year's Day is 13 April every year,
The Songkran celebration is rich with symbolic traditions. Mornings begin with merit-making. Visiting local temples and offering food to the Buddhist monks is commonly practiced.
The holiday is known for its water festival which is mostly celebrated by young people. Major streets are closed for traffic, and are used as arenas for water fights. Celebrants, young and old, participate in this tradition by splashing water on each other. Traditional parades are held and in some venues "Miss Songkran" is crowned.” where contestants are clothed in traditional Thai dress.
In Thailand, this festival is generally celebrated for three days from 13 to 15 April. Before the celebrations, people will clean their houses in the hope of casting away any bad luck of the old year, so that good fortune will slip into their new lives instead. Food and sweets will be prepared in advance for merit making and for entertaining guests.
In some northern rural areas, explosive sounds and loud noises will be made to chase the ghosts away. Candles will be lit and piles of wood will be burned in front of the houses on New Year's Eve to shine the way for the spirits, which old people believe will come out of their places on that night.
The Songkran celebrations will begin with food presentation to the monks who will walk along the streets in the early morning to receive food and other offerings. But some people will bring food to the temples nearby for the monks. And after that they may free birds or fish as a way of merit making too.
In big cities like Bangkok or Chiang Mai, the most revered Buddha image will be carried in a procession along the streets to an open space for people to sprinkle scented water on to show their veneration. In many places, the highlight of the festival is a grand procession of floral floats carrying Miss Songkran (the beauty queen) and other beautiful girls dressed in traditional Thai costumes.
One of the activities for young people to do is to visit and convey their best wishes to their elders by pouring water on them or their palms, and the elders will give blessings to them in return. After this, it is time for children and young people to have a good time in water throwing, dancing and folk games.