The Water Festival (Burmese: သင်္ကြန်, thingyan; Khmer: បុណ្យចូលឆ្នាំថ្មី; Lao: ສົງການ; Thai: สงกรานต์, Tamil: சொங்க்ரான், songkran; Chinese: 潑水節) is the New Year's celebrations that take place in Southeast Asian countries such as Burma, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand as well as Yunnan, China. It is called the 'Water Festival' by Westerners because people pour water at one another as part of the cleansing ritual to welcome the new year. Traditionally people gently sprinkled water on one another as a sign of respect, but as the new year falls during the hottest month in South East Asia, many people end up dousing strangers and passersby in vehicles in boisterous celebration. The act of pouring water is also a show of blessings and good wishes. It is believed that on this Water Festival, everything old must be thrown away, or it will bring the owner bad luck.
The festival has many different names specific to each country, such as Songkran in Thailand and Pi-Mai Lao in Laos (translates as "New Year"), Chaul Chnam Thmey in Cambodia, and Thingyan in Myanmar. The New Year is celebrated in other South Asian countries, based on the astrological event of the sun beginning its northward journey. Traditional dance, singing and cultural shows are performed together during the festival. Religious activities in the tradition of Theravada Buddhism are also carried out at both pagoda and monastery. Young people visit elders to pay respect during this period.
On April 15, 2010, a series of bomb explosions during the Burmese water festival killed 9 people and injured 170 near Kandawgyi Lake in Mingala Taungnyunt Township in Yangon, Burma (Myanmar).[1][2]
At least 349 people were killed and hundreds injured in a stampede in Cambodia that broke out while thousands were celebrating a water festival on an island in a river in Phnom Penh late on 22 November 2010.[3]
The Thai New Year (สงกรานต์ = Songkran in Thai language) is fixed every year from 13 to 15 April. The Burmese New Year Thingyan is announced by the traditional calendar of Myanmar Team and normally falls around 13 April. Cambodia celebrates the Cambodian New Year from 13 to 15 April. The Lao New Year is celebrated every year from 13 to 16 April.
"Water Festival" is often a confusing term for foreigners in Cambodia because the Khmer New Year in April is not normally referred to as "the Water Festival", unlike equivalent new year celebrations in neighboring countries. Rather, the "Water Festival" in Cambodia usually refers to the festival Bon Om Thook (Khmer:ពិធីបុណ្យអុំទូក) focused on traditional boat racing, which usually takes place in November each year.