Songkran is a celebration that gives students at international schools the opportunity to become more aware of the wonderful culture of our host country.
International School of Chonburi students learned about some of the traditions of Songkran from the Thai staff and were then able to celebrate in a more traditional way.
In the morning they decorated the sand chedi with multi coloured paper flags. In the olden days, people carried sand out of the temples on the soles of their shoes. To make up for this, sand was given back to temples, shaped into chedis and decorated before it was used for construction purposes. The more colour the better, hence the flags.
The next part of the celebration was the water pouring ceremony. The students paid their respects to their teachers and teaching assistants by pouring water on their hands. From the youngest 2 year olds to the Year 3 students, they were a picture of concentration and received good wishes for their efforts.
The highlight of the morning was the water throwing. Students “gently” threw water on hands, arms or shoulders to wash away any bad luck and make sure that they were starting the new Thai year well.
