To my dearest American friend,

I send greetings from Thailand! I hope you are well and are having a good new years. You won’t believe some of the things we get to do during the new years! We celebrate Songkran as our way to bring in the new year. Since we don’t celebrate the holiday in the winter, we can always have a blast during this season.

We kick off the beginning of the year by celebrating Songkran during the month of April. It’s our most popular and famous festival that’s held for three days, it starts on the 13th and ends on the 15th. Basically, it’s a giant water fight we have throughout the entire country! In my opinion it’s the best way to start the year. I was able to get a big bucket earlier this month, I’m going to sit on my roof, fill the bucket with water then when people walk past my house, I’ll be able to pour the water on them!

The reason why we have this huge water fight in the middle of April is because where I come from, putting water on someone’s hands or shoulder here is a sign of respect, and also because April is the hottest month of the year in this area of the world. Not only does this festival have a lot to fo with respect, but it also ties into Buddhism a lot since it’s the main religion in my country.  

Well my friend, I hope you’re having a good new years despite being on the other side of the world, I send this letter with care. Maybe consider spending Songkran with me next year! What are some of your traditions during the new year? In my opinion, I think it’s cool to learn about different cultures and traditions. With that being said, I hope you learned a little bit about Songkran and how I celebrate the new years in Thailand.

Sincerely,

Apinya