Tourism Thailand

The Thai New Year (Thai: สงกรานต์ Songkran) is celebrated every year on 13 April to 15 April. It is also celebrated in Laos (called Songkan in Lao), Cambodia, Myanmar (Burma where it is called Thingyan), and by ethnic Dai in Yunnan, China. Sri Lanka also celebrates a similar festival called Sinhalese and Tamil new year on the same dates.

The date of the festival was originally set by astrological calculation, but it is now fixed . If these days fall on a weekend, the missed days off will be taken on the days immediately following (But Sri Lanka still uses an astrological calculation to set the dates and times based on the sun’s positional change and those dates and times are used to start the festival events). Songkran falls in the hottest time of the year in Thailand, at the end of the dry season. Until 1888 the Thai New Year was the beginning of the year in Thailand; thereafter 1 April was used until 1940. 1 January is now the beginning of the year. The traditional Thai New Year has been a national holiday since then.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songkran

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The Chakri dynasty has ruled Thailand since the founding of the Ratthanakosin era in 1782 after king Taksin of Thonburi was declared mad and the capital of Siam shifted to Bangkok. The Chakri which provides both name and emblem to the house of Chakri, is composed of the discus (Chakra) and the trident (Trisula), the celestial weapon of the God Narai (an avatar of Vishnu) of whom the Siamese King is seen as a personification. The coined name Chakri thus denotes the transcending force of divine strength and stability upon the physical realm.

Prior to the founding of the dynasty, King Buddha Yodfa Chulalok the Great (Rama I), held the title of Chao Pharaya Chakri which he inherited from his father Chao Pharaya Chakri of Pitsanuloke for over 10 years. This title was held by the greatest warlords of Ayuthaya and was meant to reflect the prowess of the holder on the battlefield. In the founding of the dynasty King Rama I himself chose both name and emblem for the dynasty.

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April Fool’s Day or All Fool’s Day occurs annually on April 1. The day is generally observed by playing a practical joke on a “victim” who soon becomes known as an April Fool. This custom is thought to have started in France during the 16th century but the British are credited with bringing it to the United States.

The commonly accepted origin of April Fool’s Day involves changes in the calendar. At one time, the New Year celebration began on March 25 and ended on April 1. However, in 1582, King Charles IX adopted the Gregorian calendar and accepted the beginning of the new year as January 1. Those who refused to acknowledge the new date or simply forgot received foolish gifts and invitations to nonexistent parties. The butt of such a prank was known as a “poisson d’avril” or “April fish”.

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