Tauranga's Thai community come together for Songkran Water Festival

Sofie Vamacka 8, Season Lertlart-Gurung, 7, and Maia Lertlart-Gurung, 6, perform a traditional Thai dance at this year's Songkran Water Festival at the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre. Photo / George Novak

Forget Christmas and New Year festivities, for Tauranga's Thai community it's all about the Songkran Water Festival.

The festival is traditionally the biggest day of the year for Thais and those living in the Bay of Plenty got to party with dance, food, garb and song at the Queen Elizabeth Youth Centre yesterday. SawitriGoldsbury said Thai people traditionally celebrated Songkran at this time of year each year because, for them, it was like their New Year's.

"For the Thai New Year, we make offerings to the monks, our parents and also it's a celebration of the cleanliness of water, we start the New Year clean and new.

"In Buddhism, we use water for cleansing. If we were back in Thailand it would be the water festival - everyone pumps water for free, there are flowers everywhere, white powder on your face. That's a form of cleansing. That's what we believe."

The festival traditionally lasts three to five days but in Tauranga the Thai community had only yesterday. Beauty pageants were held and there were several dance performances highlighting the talents of Tauranga-Thailand's new generation.

As Goldsbury explained the festival, she watched daughters Maia Lertlart-Gurung, 6, and Season Lertlart-Gurung, 7, perform traditional Thai dance to the eager audience.

"We put this on every year for the community and obviously the community is growing in New Zealand. We are finding we are getting more and more people each time. To be able to have [this] where we can all come together is great," Goldsbury said.

Pat Walker from the Bay of Plenty Buddhist Society and Wat Paknam in Welcome Bay said the Tauranga festival had been running for about 17 years. While it was a time of celebration, it also raised money for the Wat Paknam temple and the monks who live there.

"The monks live by donation. They don't get paid, they don't get wages," Walker said.

Walker was pleased with the turnout this year and said April was traditionally a hot month in Thailand and perfect timing for the water festival, where individuals sprinkle water over each other. Although it was not as hot in New Zealand, the chance to get together was priceless, she said.

How big is Songkran?

Songkran in Thailand is officially observed between April 13 and 15 as a national holiday, although in reality, celebrations often last the entire week.

During Songkran, most office buildings, banks, as well as family-run shops and restaurants, shut down completely, while big shopping malls usually remain open.

Bangkok experiences a mass exodus, as at least half of its residents travel back to their hometowns for family reunions. In their place are tourists, who fly into Bangkok particularly to enjoy one of the most colourful and festive times of the year.

Source - www.bangkok.com