the songkran festival is  astrological passage '' and what does it mean.
the songkran festival is  astrological passage '' and what does it mean.
what is the songkran festival and what does it mean?
`` astrological passage ''
songkran (, ) is the thai new year's national holiday. songkran is 13 april every year, but the holiday period extends from 14 to 15 april. in 2018 the thai cabinet extended the festival nationwide to five days, 12–16 april, to enable citizens to travel home for the holiday. in 2019, the holiday will be observed 12–16 april as 13 april falls on a saturday. the word "songkran" comes from the sanskrit word "", literally "astrological passage", meaning transformation or change. the term was borrowed from makar sankranti, the name of a harvest festival celebrated in india in january to mark the arrival of spring. it coincides with the rising of aries on the astrological chart and with the new year of many calendars of south and southeast asia, in keeping with the buddhist calendar. the new year takes place at virtually the same time as the new year celebrations of many countries in south asia like china (dai people of yunnan province), laos, myanmar, cambodia, nepal, bangladesh, india, and sri lanka.
songkran (thailand)
"songkran" derives from sanskrit meaning 'shift' or 'movement'. it derives from the movement of the sun from one position to another in the zodiac. according to its literal meaning in sanskrit, a songkran occurs every month. however, the period that thai people refer to as songkran happens when the sun moves from pisces to aries in the zodiac. the correct name for this period should actually be "maha songkran" ('great songkran') because it coincides with the arrival of a new year. the songkran festival is, therefore, a celebration of the new year in accordance with the solar calendar. the celebration covers a period of three days: 13 april is regarded as "maha songkran", the day that the sun moves into aries on the zodiac or the last day of the old year. the next day, 14 april is called "wan nao", the transitional day between the old and the new years, and 15 april is called "wan thaloeng sok" ( 'to begin a new era or year'), new year's day itself.
songkran (thailand)