Songkran - Thailand celebrates three New Years

Songkran celebrations 2025

Did you know Thailand celebrates three New Years? The country officially switched to the Gregorian calendar in 1941, so they celebrate:-

1.    January 1 – Western New Year

2.    February – Chinese New Year

3.    April 13–15 – Songkran - Thai New Year

We’re here for Songkran which is rooted in ancient Hindu cosmology and Buddhist customs. Traditionally, it's a time for purification rituals, temple visits, and paying respects to elders. In Phuket, celebrations blend tradition with modern festivities. Think water guns, temple visits, cleansing rituals, and, depending on where you are, quite a bit of chaotic wet fun which lasts for three days.

April 13 – Wan Maha Songkran: official New Year’s Day (think of it as “New Year’s Eve meets reset day”)

April 14 – Wan Nao: a kind of transition day, traditionally when families prepare offerings and clean homes

April 15 – Wan Thaloeng Sok: the day that marks the official start of the new solar year

Thailand isn’t alone in its triple-header calendar party though. Across the globe interwoven histories and cosmopolitan living have given rise to multiple New Year celebrations. Being clarity-loving nomads we love that we’ve had three chances to reset and reflect our intentions with purpose.Local newspapers report that this year the festival is projected to generate over “134 billion baht (~$3.9 billion USD) for Thailand's economy, reflecting a 4.5% increase from the previous year.” We’re convinced that a huge contribution is the number of large water guns sold everywhere! Jokes aside, we’ve never seen so many versions, sizes and piles of water guns before!

Because of the increased frivolity, water shooting at people along the streets and alcohol consumption a 'Seven Days of Danger' road safety campaign was launched, emphasising the importance of safety during the festivities and temporary traffic police stations have been erected in strategic places around Phuket. Because of this we chose to stay off the roads on the official New Year’s Day and honoured the new year with a temple visit.

One of the best things we’ve seen over this time is EVERYONE wearing colourful and floral shirts. We love the Thai's ability to honor tradition while embracing the present.