Songkran ’Prapeni Pi Mai Mueang Chiang Mai’
April 12 - 16, 2014
 Venue: Chiang Mai Town, Chiang Mai In the North, where Songkran Lanna is celebrated, it is also called the ‘Prapeni Pi Mai Mueang’. The celebration begins on 13 April, which is called ‘Sangkhan Long’ Day. The day is considered as the last day of the year in the Northern region. In the morning, firecrackers will be lit because of the belief that evil from the past year will be chased away by the noise of the firecrackers. In the evening, a parade for Chiang Mai’s significant Buddha statue will be organized around the city. Locals and tourists join the ceremony both for fun and to make merit. On 14 April or ‘Nao’ Day, it is believed that impolite words and manners are prohibited on this particular day. Anyone who breaks the rules will have bad luck for the whole year. 15 April is called the ‘Phya Day’ or ‘beginning of the new era’. On this day, locals usually start their morning early and go to a temple to make a merit, and listen to monks’ sermons. And later in the day, they will go respectfully to their parents and elder relatives to pour water on their hands and ask for a blessing. On 16 April, ‘Pak Pi’ Day people will go to pour water on the hands of the abbots from different temples. On 17 April, ‘Pak Duen’ Day, the last day of the Songkran celebration here, locals will clean themselves by brushing their body to symbolize cleaning away bad luck. This tradition is the uniqueness of the North of Thailand only. Activities: - Join the parade and pour water on Chiang Mai and Lanna’s prominent Buddha statue ‘Phra Phuttha Sihing’. - Join the parade and bring sand and ‘Sali (Bodhi tree) Clutches’ to the temple. Contact Details: TAT Call Center 1672 TAT Chiang Mai Office Tel. +66 5324 8604, +66 5324 8607, +66 5330 2500 |
