HCMC – The Thai Consulate General in HCMC today, April 20, held Thai Songkran Festival 2024 to celebrate the Thai New Year and the UNESCO’s recent inscription of Songkran as Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
In her opening remarks, Wiraka Moodhitaporn, consul general of Thailand in HCMC, said that the Thai Songkran Festival 2024 marks the first in-person celebration since the outbreak of Covid-19 four years ago. It also marks the first time that foreign friends have participated in the festival.
Guests have the opportunity to engage in traditional rituals such as the Buddha bathing ritual, pouring water on the hands of the elderly to seek blessings, savoring Thai cuisine, enjoying Thai dance performances and Thai massage, and participating in joyful games. Notably, they can take part in thrilling water fights.
The festival not only served as a platform for the Thai community to celebrate their cultural heritage but also provided an opportunity for local residents to experience Thai traditions.
Songkran is the water-splashing festival marking Thai New Year celebration. It is widely celebrated across South and Southeast Asia. Taking place in mid-April after the rice harvest, it serves as a time for family reunions and paying respect to ancestors and elderly people.
The festival is viewed as a time to wash away bad luck, dispel sadness and fatigue from the old year, and bring luck and happiness for the upcoming bright year.
Songkran was inscribed on UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity on December 6, 2023.
