Happy New Year (สวัสดีปีใหม่) & happy holidays from Thailand!
The Songkran festival is the traditional Thai New Year celebration and it is held from the 13th to the 15th of April. This is our hottest and driest time of year. April is also the month when all of the students take their “summer” school break. The roads are busy with travelers going home for the holidays and a festive mood is everywhere.
People celebrate Songkran by throwing water on each other. The water is meant as a symbol of washing away all the “bad” things from life. The Thai people see it as a great time of fun and the entire county is filled with wet people enjoying non-stop “water wars”!
The “down side” of the Thai new year celebration is the fact that highway traffic accidents and deaths are at their highest during this time of year. Just like new year celebrations everywhere, there are many more drunk drivers on the roads.
I find it ironic that most Thai people don't grasp the symbolism of the New Year being a time for washing away the bad of the past. As the old hymn says, “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” We praise God for the opportunity to continue to share the gospel with the people of Thailand. Please continue to pray that many more would come to understand and accept the true washing away of their sins through Jesus Christ.
Yours for Thailand
David M. Speights