Traditional Thai dance Ram Chern Phra Khwan Songkran Perth Australia

Traditional Thai dance Ram Chern Phra Khwan Songkran Perth Australia 2018 Forrest place

Songkran means the shift of the sun from one side of the zodiac to the other. The holiday is celebrated when the sun moves from Pisces to Aries, beginning a new astrological year. The origins of Thai New Year combine Buddhist beliefs, ancient astrology, and the solar calendar. Songkran is also known as the Water Festival. New Year in Thailand is greeted with a splash of scented water to wish someone a happy new year. It is believed that water help to cleanse and to wash away unhappiness from the previous year.

Ram Chern Phra Khwan Thai Dance Songkran Festival 2018 Perth Australia. . – Event date: 14th of April 2018

Traditional Thai dance

is a combination of graceful body movements in addition to elaborate costumes and music. There are a total of six different forms of Thai dance: the khon, li-khe, ram wong, shadow puppetry, lakhon lek, and lakhon. One of the most distinctive aspects of this Thai art form is the costumes worn by the performers. Though the quality of the designs has gradually declined since its beginnings some centuries ago, the outfits still remain stunning and elaborate. Gold and silver sequins are used, and even unusual adornments such as beetle wings have been used in their creation.

The Songkran Festival

is a period when the Thai people cleanse and pour water mixed with Thai fragrance on Buddha images. The festival also showcases a bathing ritual where the people pour water on the senior Buddhist monks. This process is believed to bring good luck to them. After that, the chief monk will give a sermon and bless those who attend this bathing ritual.

The Songkran Festival is a period when Thai people splash water on themselves, which they believe will cause plenty of rainfall in the coming year. Water is used to cleanse themselves of those bad things and also a symbol of fertility.
In some areas in Thailand, Buddha images are paraded from one street to the other, allowing Thai people to shower them with water. The young people pay gratitude and also show a sign of respect to elders in a sacred ritual, which involves pouring down scented water on their hands and also giving them new clothes. This water festival in Thailand involves merrymaking, presenting offerings to monks, releasing birds and fishes into the river, paying respect to elders, building sand pagodas, listening to sermons and, more importantly, splashing of water. This is believed to bring longevity, good health and prosperity.