Every year in Thailand, the country erupts into a massive water fight to celebrate the new year. Taking place April 13th-15th, the main focus of this festival is moving forward and washing the previous year away to start fresh. The beginning of the day starts with visiting Buddhist temples to bring offerings, listen to monks preach, bathe Buddhist statues in order to purify them and to bring good fortune, and the younger generations may pour water on the hands of the elderly to show respect. Some visitors may even bring sand as a way to replenish the sand that's been carried away on shoes throughout the previous year, again trying to bring everything back to an equilibrium.
In this same vain, spring cleaning is done at homes, schools, offices, and other public spaces to bring good luck for the coming year. After the cleaning is done and everyone has worked up a sweat (not difficult in Thailand at this time of year), the fun begins. Since water is believed to cleanse, bring good fortune and for reverence; people collect water in buckets, squirt guns, and anything and everything else that will hold liquid and absolutely douse each other in the name of moving forward. If you're in the country at this time of year, make sure to account for this celebration in your trip planning.
Lastly, but not leastly, the celebration also brings people together; fighting loneliness and social isolation especially in the elderly population. It's about coming together, reuniting with family members, feasting, honoring ancestors and older adults, and bringing the party to the streets where whole communities come together to cause a ruckus and have fun.
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