Songkran 2023

This year I had the wonderful opportunity to celebrate Songkran at Wat Buddhavas in Houston, Tx. with my mother, her husband, my wife, and my daughter. Songkran is the Thai New Year although it is also celebrated throughout Southeast Asia in countries such as Cambodia, Viet Nam, and Laos. 

The term Songkran is a Sanskrit word meaning 'to move' or 'movement' and marks the solar New Year and is celebrated over a period of three days. Celebrations during this time involve making merit with visiting temples or pagodas and making offerings to the monks. Songkran is also known for its 'water festival' where people pour water over statues of the Buddha as well as over the hands of the monks and elderly. This water pouring represents purification and the washing away of bad luck. Streets are often closed and people enjoy playful water fights and sometimes also throw a white powder at each other too.

Wat Buddhavas is a beautiful Wat and has 8 monks including the Abbot. When I arrived Saturday night after driving down from Minneapolis most of the activities were concluding but there was still much going on. People were eating the various types of street food such as noodle soup, fried bananas, stick rice, and grilled meats. What was really nice was to see the level of involvement of young people. Too often I find that when immigrants come to the US their children loose so much of what their culture offers simply so they may 'fit in' here. To see otherwise here was certainly a nice reprise.

The next day, Sunday, we arrived at the temple around 9:30 AM. My mothers husband, Yutana, is a former monk and leads or emcees the various events such as Songkran. At 10:30 we all sat in the temple where we enjoyed the monks chanting and the alms-giving ceremony. It was during this event that I was walking behind the monks as they collected their offerings from the lay people in attendance. Offerings consist of rice, foods, and money which after collected are sorted and counted all in support of Wat.

From 11 - 12 PM the monks and the lay people enjoyed lunch together. It is customary that lay people cook food and offer it to the monks. What's leftover, and it's always a lot, is shared joyfully with all in attendance. At 1 PM we all gathered back in the temple to listen to a sermon about the meaning of Songkran and to receive the blessings from the monks. Lastly, at 2 PM we all walked around the temple three times in celebration of Songkran and then bathed the Buddha, monks, and elders.

Holidays, no matter the origination, are an important part of ones culture. They carry meaning and significance that are necessary to maintaining cultural identity, cultural connections, and family connections especially when one is far away from the country of origin. Festivals such as Songkran are open to the public and allow for those outside of the particular community to learn more about them. Learning about other cultures, instead of shying away from them as something 'foreign', builds understanding which sometimes seems to be in short supply.

It is when we understand one another that unity and peace are able to be cultivated and fostered.

Happy Songkran 2023 my dear friends.

 

Wishing you continued peace and wellbeing,

 

Vladimir

 

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