The Songkran festival commemorates the start of the traditional Thai New Year. Besides the water splashing, celebrations and family reunions, many Thai people perform rituals that show respect for and seek blessings from their ancestors, elders and Buddha images.
One of the sacred ceremonies to celebrate Songkran takes place at the National Museum Bangkok near Sanam Luang. All are welcome to pour scented water on the relics of the Lord Buddha and the statues of the Navagraha, the nine celestial influencers, at Samran Mookkhamart Pavilion from today until Saturday, 9am-4pm.
This set of statues is praised for portraying the outstanding characteristics of the celestial influencers. It was moulded according to the design based on Volume 70 of the National Library's Book of Deities Statues. The paintings are believed to be the work of Chao Fah (Prince) Issarapongse, and look similar to those of deities on the windows of the ordination hall of Wat Bowonsathan Sutthawas (Wat Phra Kaew Wang Na).
The nine deities are Phra Arthit (Sun), Phra Chandra (Moon), Phra Angkhan or Mangala (Mars), Phra Phut (Mercury), Phra Brihaspati (Jupiter), Phra Shukra (Venus), Phra Sao or Shani (Saturn), Phra Rahu and Phra Ketu.
According to traditional Thai and Hindu astrological beliefs, each individual is protected by the deity of the day of birth. In his/her different ages, each person is visited by another celestial influencer. How good and bad his/her luck is depends on the nature of each visiting deity and whether the daily deity gets along well with the visiting deity.
The first day of Songkran, called Maha Songkran Day, is the day Phra Arthit moves from Pisces to Aries. The next day is called Wan Nao, or Songkran Day, and the last day of the festival is called Wan Thalerng Sok, meaning the start of the New Year.
Worshippers can visit nearby Sanam Luang to pay respect to Phra Phuttha Sihing, a major Buddha statue. During Songkran, Phra Phuttha Sihing is processed from the former Front Palace's Phutthaisawan Throne Hall to Sanam Luang for the people to sprinkle scented water over and ask for blessings.
This statue was made of gold bronze in the Sukhothai-Lanna art style, around the late 15th-16th centuries. According to legend, Phra Phuttha Sihing was commissioned by a king of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 147 AD to resemble the Lord Buddha. During the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of the Sukhothai Kingdom, the monarch requested the Buddha statue and had it enshrined in Sukhothai. After the downturn of Sukhothai, the statue was moved to several cities. It is believed that the statue was taken to Chiang Mai after the fall of the Ayutthaya Kingdom in 1767.
Also during Songkran, those wearing traditional Thai costumes to any of the nine historical parks nationwide from today until April 16 receive free admission.
The nine parks are Ayutthaya Historical Park in Ayutthaya, Sukhothai Historical Park and Si Satchanalai Historical Park in Sukhothai, Kamphaeng Phet Historical Park in Kamphaeng Phet, Phanom Rung Historical Park in Buri Ram, Phimai Historical Park in Nakhon Ratchasima, Muang Singh Historical Park in Kanchanaburi, Sri Thep Historical Park in Phetchabun and Phu Phra Bat Historical Park in Udon Thani.
