Ancestor altars are common during New Year celebrations in Cambodia and Thailand.
Songkran celebrations involve a variety of diverse traditions practiced in the many countries and regions that celebrate the traditional New Year festival
The word Songkran[5] or Songkrant[6] (outdated Thai form), is a
Thai word[7] or
Siamese word,[8] as contractive word in Thai forms of Sangkran[9] (sim kranti), which derived from the Sanskrit word,[10]saṅkrānti (or, more specifically, meṣha saṅkrānti)[11] or
Pali, Saṅkhāra.[12] It begins when the sun transits the constellation of
Aries, the first
astrological sign in the
Zodiac, as reckoned by
sidereal astrology.[13] It is related to the equivalent
Hindu calendar-based New Year festivals in most parts of South Asia which are collectively referred to as Mesha Sankranti.
Songkran in Sanskrit forms, written as Vishuva Sankranti, which marked the beginning of the New Year in the Odisha calendar and referred to the sun on midday has equally orbited in the day and night, was found in
Thailand at these locations;
Stone Inscription of Wat Sa Kamphaeng Yai[16] (S.K.1, K.374) 1042 CE,
Sisaket province, written as Vishuva Sankranti.[15]: 9 (Read and translated by Amphai Khamtho, the Fine Art Department of Thailand.)
Stone Inscription of Prasat Phanom Wan[17][18] (NM.1, K.391) 1082 CE,
Nakhon Ratchasima province, written as Sankranti which marked the beginning of the New Year. (Read and translated by Thongsub Subhamark.)
Stone Inscription of Wat Phra That Choeng Chum[19] (S.N.2, K.369) 1000-1100 CE,
Sakon Nakhon province, written as Kranti, meaning of Songkran. (Read and translated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Santi Pakdekham, Ph.D.).[20]
Songkran in Thai forms which being still used to present, however, the meaning is still same as Vishuva Sankranti and also referred to as Mesha Sankranti which can be found in;
Nirat Than Sok. A poetic work composed by Prince
Thammathibet Chaiyachet Suriyawong (1715–1755),[22] son of King
Borommakot of Ayutthaya Kingdom. The poem said of the Royal Ceremony of Marching Field and mentioned the word Songkran in month of Aries (according to Surya Siddhanta).[23]
Inscription of Maha Songkran at
Wat Pho, Thailand, erected in 1831 the reign of King
Rama III, written as Songkran.[15]: 22
The word Songkran not only can be found those Thai archaeological evidences, but also being recorded by foreigners who ever lived in Thailand. Its meaning especially marked the beginning of Songkran festival, holidays, water-splashing and Siamese new year observances different the meaning of the Sanskrit word, saṅkrānti which can be found in these contemporary archives;
De Beschryving van Japan (The History of Japan) recorded by
Engelbert Kaempfer in 1690 after he sailed reached to Siam in reign of King
Phetracha of Ayutthaya Kingdom, Engelbert Kaempfer handwrote of Siamese New year observance as Sonkraen[24] in old-17th century Dutch.
Grammatica Linguæ Thai version of J. Bapt. Pallegoix[25] written by
Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix in 1850 while was living in Siam in reign of King
Rama III. There are the word Songkran both in Thai and English.
Sappa Pachana Pasa Thai[26] (
Thai: สัพะ พะจะนะ พาสา ไท), the Thai-Latin-German-English Quadrilingual dictionary written in 1854 reign of King
Mongkut, by
Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix said of the word Songkran such in four languages as spelled in English; SONGKRAN, its meaning in Latin:- "Ad alium locum pergere; angelus qui praesidere anno", in French:- "Aller dans un autre endroit; ange qui préside à l'année." and in English:- "To go to another place; angel preside over the year." as well as written in the contemporary archive, Description du Royaume Thai ou Siam[27] by
Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix.
Bangkok Calendar written in 1861 by
Dan Beach Bradley, an American Protestant missionary to Siam from 1835 of The American Missionary Association (AMA), in reign of King
Mongkut.
A Journey Round the World in the Years 1875-1876-1877 by
John Henry Gray, archdeacon of Hong Kong, in reign of King
Chulalongkorn.[28]
The Siam Repository (1871) written by
Samuel J. Smith, a Baptist missionary in Siam, at his office in
Bangkok.
The Pearl of Asia: Reminiscences of the Court of a Supreme Monarch (1892) written by Jacob T. Child, said of Songkran Holidays observance in Thailand.[29]
Siam: A Handbook of Practical, Commercial, and Political Information (1912) written by
Walter Armstrong Graham, an adviser to the Thai government to the state of
Kelantan (1903-1909).[30]
The other spelling of the word Songkran written as Sangken or Sangkran,[31] found in archive of Kamarupa Anusandhan Samiti (Assam Research Society) recorded by the oldest Research institution in North-East
India mentions the Tai New Year’s festival or Water spraying festival of
Tai peoples in
Northeast India.
History
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adding to it. (May 2023)
Songkran celebrations are held in many parts of the country. One of the most notable celebrations is at the Wat Pa Buddharangsee Buddhist Temple in the
Sydney suburb of
Leumeah, New South Wales. The festival attracts thousands of visitors each year and involves a water fight, daily prayer, dance performances and food stalls which serve food of Thai, Bangladesh (CHT), Burmese, Cambodian, Laotian, Sri Lankan and Malaysian origin.[34][35] In 2014, the celebration was attended by more than 2000 people.[36] Similarly in the same suburb, the Mahamakut Buddhist Foundation organizes a Songkran celebration featuring chanting, blessing, a short sermon, a fund raising food fete and Southeast Asian traditional dances.[37] Large scale Thai New Year (Songkran) celebrations are held in
Thai Town, Sydney in the popular tourist suburb of
Haymarket, New South Wales.[38] In
Melbourne, the Sinhalese (Sri Lankan) New Year festival is held annually in
Dandenong, Victoria.[39] In 2011, it attracted more than 5000 people and claims to be the largest Sinhalese New Year Festival in Melbourne.[40] The
Queen Victoria Market held a two-day Songkran event celebrating the Thai New Year in early April 2017.[41] Songkran celebrations celebrating the Thai, Cambodian, Lao, Burmese and Sri Lankan New Year festivals are well known and popular among the residents of the Sydney suburb of
Cabramatta, New South Wales which is home to large populations of
Cambodians,
Laotians and
Thais.[42] Temples and organisations hold celebrations across the suburb including a large Lao New Year celebration in the neighbouring suburb of
Bonnyrigg organised in partnership with the
Fairfield City Council.[43][44] In the Melbourne suburb of
Footscray, Victoria a Lunar New Year celebration initially focusing on the
Vietnamese New Year has expanded into a celebration of the Songkran celebrations of the Thais, Cambodians, Laotians and other
Asian Australian communities such as Chinese who celebrate the New Year in either January/February or April.[45]Taronga Zoo in
Sydney,
New South Wales celebrated the Thai New Year in April 2016 with its
Asian elephants and traditional Thai dancers.[46]
United States
Songkran celebrations often occur in cities which host large
Sri Lankan,
Thai,
Burmese,
Laotian and
Cambodian populations. The UW Khmer Student Association hosts a new year celebration at the
University of Washington in
Seattle. The White Center Cambodian New Year Street Festival is held at the Golden House Bakery & Deli in Seattle.[47] The Los Angeles Buddhist Vihara in
Pasadena, California celebrates the Songkran festival with a focus on the Sri Lankan New Year. The Brahma Vihara in
Azusa, California also holds celebrations with a Burmese New Year focus.[48] The International Lao New Year Festival is held annually in
San Francisco and celebrates the Lao New Year with acknowledgment of other Asian communities, Thai, Cambodian, Burmese, Sri Lankan and the Dai people of southern China, who also celebrate the same festival.[49] In February 2015, the
Freer and Sackler gallery in
Washington D.C. held a Lunar New Year event celebrating the "
Year of the Sheep" which also celebrated the Lunar New Year that occurs in mid-April for many other Asian countries. It included activities, information and food from China, Korea, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and other Asian countries that celebrated either of the two new year celebrations.[50] Similarly in 2016,
The Wing in
Seattle held a Lunar New Year celebration centered around the East Asian Lunar New Year however also focused on New Year customs in Laos as part of its "New Years All Year Round" exhibit.[51]
Notes
^In the Dai zodiac, the elephant is the twelfth zodiac and thus will be considered the "Year of the Elephant".[1]
^A Research School of Pacific Studies, Australian National University. (2001, Jan 1). Thai-Yunnan Project: The Tai World: A Digest of Articles from the Thai-Yunnan Project Newsletter, in Memory of Gehan Wijeyewardene, by Gehan Wijeyewardene, Andrew Walker and Nicholas Tapp, Dept. of Anthropology. Oakland, CALIFORNIA: Masalai Press. 272 pp. p. 78. "water-splashing at Songkran the symbol of Tai"
Brehm, W.,
Gita Steiner-Khamsi, Yuto Kitamura, Shigeru Aoyagi, and
Thongchai Winichakul. (2022). Memory in the Mekong: Regional Identity, Schools, and Politics in Southeast Asia. New York: Teachers College Press,
Columbia University. 200 pp.
ISBN978-080-7-76636-1. p. 88. "Thai and Tai people are alternately referred to, we can observe that another criterion for being Thai is “Thai culture and customs,” with an example of the celebration of Songkran Day."
^Dan Beach Bradley et al,
American Missionary Association. (1861). "PRINCIPAL HOLIDAYS OBSERVED BY SIAMESE AND OTHERS", Bangkok Calendar: For the year of Our Lord 1861, Coresponding to the Siamese Civil Era 1222-3 and Nearly so to the Chinese Cycle Era 4498, ... Compiled by D.B.B. (Dan Beach Bradley). Bangkok: American Missionary Association. p. 58. "Songkran—Occurs usually a week or two after Siamese New–Year, it being of 3 days continnanee, and much observed." pp. 113, 127, 136. "SONGKRAN—Will occur about April 12th."
Gray, John Henry. (1879). "Chapter V.: SIAM", A Journey Round the World in the Years 1875-1876-1877. LONDON: Harrison and Sons. 612 pp. p. 137. "This privilege is exercised by the people during the festivals, which are respectively termed the Chinese new year, the Siamese new year, and Songkran."
United States Department of State. (1984). "Touring and Outdoor Activities",
Thailand Post Report. Washington, D.C.: The U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 15. "Songkran (mid-April) is Thai New Year's Day. Young girls dressed in Thai national costumes go to the banks of river in colorful processions."
^H.H. Prince Bidyalabh Bridhyakon. (1969). Collected Articles By H.H. Prince Dhani Nivat Kromamun Bidayalabh Brdihyakorn, Honorary President The Siam Society: Reprinted From The Journal of The Siam Society on The Occasion of His Eighty-fourth Birthday. Bangkok: Siam Society. 194 pp. p. 25. "according to this the date of the entry of the sun into Aries (April the 13th) was popularly observed under the name of Songkrant (Sankranti)."
Samuel J. Smith. (1871). "Article 75 Summary of News (Weekending Feb. 23rd, 1871.): SIAMESE KRUT", The Siam Repository: A Summary of Asiatic Intelligence, Vol. 3, No. 4. by Samuel J. Smith for the Year of Our Lord 1871. Bangkok: S.J. Smith's Office. p. 225. "At the palace will be publicly announced the precise day of Songkrant, the Siamese astronomical new year day. It is said it will occur this year April 9th."
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (
UNESCO). "SONGKRANT FESTIVAL IN THAILAND", Unesco Features: A Fortnightly Press Service, 409(1963). p. 20. "Songkrant is very old and probably came to Thailand from Southern India, Songkrant (the accent is on the second syllable, the 't' is not pronounced) was a mythical character."
The Siam Society Under Royal Patronage. "No. IV. The "Toa Songkrant". ตัวสงกรานต์", The Journal of the Siam Society, Vol. 10., 1935. p. 63. "about the time of the Songkrant, that is March and April, for Songkrant in Siam falls on the 13th April."
^V. S. Bhaskar, Government of Assam, India. (2009). "Festivals: Songkran", Faith & Philosophy of Buddhism. New Delhi, India: Kalpaz Publications. 312 pp. pp. 261-262.
ISBN978-817-8-35722-5. "Songkran is a Thai word which means 'move'..."
Taipei City Government, Taiwan (ROC). (2008). Teipei: 2008 Yearbook. [臺北市年鑑2008-英文版 (In Chinese)]. Taipei: Taipei City Government Editorial Group. 386 pp.
ISBN978-986-0-14421-5. p. 269. "(Songkran) is in April, and Thai people celebrate their new year by splashing water at each other, hence the Thai name Songkran, i.e., "Water Splashing Festival."
Rooney, Dawn F. (2008). Ancient Sukhothai: Thailand's Cultural Heritage. Bangkok: River Books Press. 247 pp.
ISBN978-974-9-86342-8. p. 36. "'Songkran' is a Thai name that derives from a Sanskrit word meaning 'to move to', a reference to the sun's movements.
Anouska Komlosy. "Procession and Water Splashing: Expressions of Locality and Nationality during Dai New Year in Xishuangbanna: Songkran", The Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, 10(2). (2004, June). London:
Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland.
JSTOR #i370994. p. 357. "The term Songkran is a Thai word meaning ' to move ' , and it refers here to the Sun, which moves into the sign of Aries at this time of the year."
Sagar, Vidya. (1994). "Mother India, Children Abroad", Research Journal of the Antar-Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad, Vol. 7. Delhi: Antar-Rashtriya Sahayog Parishad. Research Class No. 294.592. p. 28. "There are similarities in the festivals too like Songkran (the Thai water festival) and Holi and Loi Krathong (the Thai festival of lights) and Diwali."
Prakong Nimmanahaeminda, Academy of Arts,
Royal Society of Thailand. "Myth and Ritual : A Study of the Songkran Festival", The Journal of The Royal Society of Thailand, 29(1–2), (2004, January–March). pp. 345–350. "Songkran is a Thai word which means of movement."
Malaysia, Jabatan Perpaduan Negara Dan Integrasi Nasional (JPNIN). (1985).
Festivals and religious occasions in Malaysia. (First series). Kuala Lumpur: The National Unity Department of Malaysia, Prime Minister's Dept. 36 pp. p. 26. "‘SONGKRAN’ is a Traditional New Year of the Thai people and this day normally fulls in the month of April. 'SONGKRAN' is a Thai word meaning change of exchange."
Sir. Philip John Newling Ward, Maj. Gen. (1974). "THE SONGKRAN FESTIVAL", Bangkok: Portrait of a City. Cambridge, United Kingdom: The Oleander Press. 136 pp. p. 111.
ISBN978-090-2-67544-5. "Thai word ' Songkran ' literally means a move or change".
James Hastings, John Alexander Selbie, Louis Herbert Gray. (1912). "FESTIVALS AND FACTS (Siamese)",
Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics Vol. 5. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. p. 886.
^Mattiebelle Gittinger Obituary and Lefferts, Jr. H. Leedom. (1992, Jan 1). Textiles and the Tai Experience in Southeast Asia: Catalog of an exhibition held at the Textile Museum, Washington, D.C., Oct. 2, 1992–Jan. 3, 1993 and at other museums. Washington, D.C.: The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum (Washington, D.C.). 264 pp. p. 90 Ref. 23.
ISBN978-087-4-05031-8. "Songkran is the Siamese word for this period."
Thompson, Peter A. (1906). Lotus Land: Being an Account of the Country and the People of Southern Siam. London: T. Werner Laurie. 312 pp. p. 125. "At the festival of Songkran, which marks the beginning of the old Siamese solar year..."
William Clifton Dodd and
Isabella Ruth Eakin Dodd. (1923). The Tai Race, Elder Brother of the Chinese: Results of Experience, Exploration and Research of William Clifton Dodd. Iowa: Torch Press. 353 pp. p. 287.
ISBN978-059-8-77591-7. "Songkran holiday is the old Siamese New Year".
^Dibrugarh University (Assam state of India), Department of Anthropology. (1995). The Bulletin of the Department of Anthropology, Vol. 23. p. 126.
ISSN0976-2264. "The word Sangkran is a Sanskrit. (sim kranti) in Thai forms the meaning of " the entry of sun into any sign of the Zodaic."
Khamchan, M. (2006). องค์ความรู้ประเพณีปี๋ใหม่เมือง [Explicit knowledge of tradition Lanna new year (in English)]. Chiang Mai, Thailand: Lanna Wisdoms School. cited in Manee Phayomyong. (1986). Lanna-Thai Culture. Bangkok: Thai Wattanapanich. p. 251-252. "ศัพท์ว่า สังกรานต์ มาจากภาษาสันสกฤตว่า สังกรานติ ศาสตราจารย์เกียรติคุณ มณี พยอมยงค์ ให้ความหมายของสังกรานติไว้ในหนังสือประเพณีสิบสองเดือนว่า สังกรานติ แปลว่า วันเดือนปีที่ล่วงไป"
Jaya Buragohain. "Importance of The Boddhi — Tree in Bhuddhist Monasteries: (with Special Reference to the North-east Region in India and South-east Asian Buddhist Countires.", Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 63(2002). p. 1103. "There is also a reference of a special rite of pouring water (rod-nam) on to the root of the Boddhi-tree during the celebration to mark the Siamese New Year (sangkran) by the Siamese in Kelantan, Malaysia."
Gogoi, P. (1996). Tai of North East India. Dhemaji, Assam, India: Chumphra Printers and Publishers. 163 pp. p. 103. "Sangkran is same and originates from sanskrit word 'Songkrant'. It is a new years day festival of the Tais."
^W. Max Muller, Sir. James George, K.C.I.E. London, Herbert G. Louis, George F. Moore, and MacCulloch J. Arnott. (1918, February). "THE FESTIVAL OF THE INDO-CHINESE", The Mythology of All Races Volume XII: Egyptian, Indo-Chinese. Boston: Marshall Jones Company. p. 323. "In Siam the festival is the same, but it is called Songkran (Sanskrit sankranti , the sun's entry into a new sign of the zodiac)..."
Satya Vrat Varma. (1993). Satya Sudha A Critical Evaluation Of Dr. Satya Vrat Shastri's Creative Works [Nayakanayikagunalaakara: Kalidasa-sridhari ; Sridhara Vasudeva Sohoni abhinandana grantha (In Hindi)]. New Delhi: Eastern Book Linkers. 413 pp. p. 319. "The letter (No.21) written to Dr.Krishna Lal from Bangkok on April 24,1979. carries a graphic account of Songkran (Sankranti) festival celebrated in Thailand in the beginning of the month of Vaisakha."
Oxford Business Group (OBG). (2011). "Water wars: The traditional Thai New Year includes some playful activities", The Report: Thailand 2012. (n.p.): Oxford Business Group. 268 pp. p. 260.
ISBN978-190-7-06563-7
Reena Marwah. (2020). Reimagining India-Thailand Relations: A Multilateral And Bilateral Perspective. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing. 320 pp. p. 72.
ISBN978-981-1-21205-5. "Songkran Festival The Sankranti, or astrological (solar) New Year"
^Sir W. M. Jones, Asiatic Society (Kolkata, India). (1869). "The Adjustment of the Hindu Calendar; by Babu Pratapachandra Ghosha.", Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal Vol. XXXVII (Part II.–Physical Sciense, No. IV.–1868). Kolkata, India: Asiatic Society of Bengal. p. 188.
SEWELL, R., Gustav Schram, R., and Sankara Balkrishna Dikshit. (1896). "Years and Cycles", The Indian Calendar with Tables for the Conversion of Hindu and Muhammadan into A.D. Dates, and vice versa. LONDON: Swan Sonnenschein & Co., Ltd. 169 pp. pp. 9, 25–31.
Swamikannu Pillai, Dewan Bahadur L. D. (Lewis Dominic). (1911). Indian Chronology (solar, Lunar and Planetary): A Practical Guide to the Interpretation and Verification of Tithis, Nakshatras, Horoscopes and other Indian Time-records. B.C. 1 TO A.D. 2000. NJ: Grant & Co., Madras. 347 pp. p. 10.
^Yavaprapas, S., Ministry of Culture (Thailand). (2004). Songkran Festival. (2rd Ed.). Bangkok: Ministry of Culture (Thailand). 95 pp. pp. 20-22.
ISBN978-974-7-10351-9. "Songkran is "to progress". Sanskrit in origin, the word can also be taken to mean that "to set up" The original word "Sankranti" in Sanskrit or "Sankhara" in Pali."
^จารึกปราสาทหินพิมาย 2. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Thailand. 13 Feb 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
^
abcdMinistry of Culture Thailand, Department of Cultural Promotion. (2021, February). "The Meaning and Origin of Songkran Tradition", Songkran Tradition. Bangkok: The Agricultural Co-operative Federation of Thailand Ltd. 262 pp.
ISBN978-616-543-698-4
^จารึกวัดสระกำแพงใหญ่. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Thailand. 13 Feb 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
^จารึกปราสาทหินพนมวัน 3. The Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre (SAC). 13 February 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
^Plainoi, S. (National Artist for 2010 of Literature discipline). (2004). "ตำนาน", ตรุษสงกรานต์: ประมวลความเป็นมาของปีใหม่ไทยในสมัยต่างๆ. (2nd Ed.) Bangkok: Matichon. 159 pp. p. 5.
^จารึกวัดพระธาตุเชิงชุม. Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Thailand. 13 Feb 2007. Retrieved 18 April 2024.
^The
Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre (SAC). (2007). Inscriptions: Wat Phra That Choeng Chum, Epigraph Line 11. Bangkok: SAC. cited in Inscriptions in Thailand Database Project Staffs (2555 B.E.), SAC., and Khom Script, 15th-16th Buddhist century. Bangkok: The National Library of Thailand, NLT, 2529, pp. 284-286. "จำมลกฺรานฺต นุ ชา ปี ทุกฺ นา องฺคุยฺ". (Epigraph), "แด่สงกรานต์ และไว้ประจำแก่". (Translation).
^พระราชพงศาวดารกรุงเก่าฉบับหลวงประเสริฐ [The Royal Chronicle of Krung Sri Ayutthaya, the edition of Luang Prasoet (in English)]. (20th Ed.). Bangkok: The Fine Arts Department of Thailand, 1986. 78 pp.
ISBN978-974-9-94331-1
^Royal Society of Thailand. (2007). The Journal of The Royal Society of Thailand, 32(1–2), (2007, January–June). p 414.
^Prince Thammathibet. (1919). Nirat Chaofa Thammathibet (กาพย์ห่อโคลงนิราศเจ้าฟ้าธรรมธิเบศร์), A poetic work composed in the form of Kap Ho Khlong. An explanation thereon, given by Prince
Damrongrachanuphap. Bangkok: Sophon Phiphat Thanakon Printing House.
LCCNn906-32866 – Thammathibēt, Prince, son of Bō̜rommakōt, King of Siam, 1715-1755.
^Engelbert Kaempfer, John Gaspar Scheuchzer and Sir Hans Sloane. (1727). De Beschryving van Japan. Door ENGELBERT KÆMPFER, M.D. Geneesheer van bet Hollandſche... (Translated by John Gaspar Scheuchzer). Netherlands: Gosse en J. Neaulme. 550 pp. p. 29. "Behalven deze hebben zy fommige jaarlykſche plechtige Feeſtdagen, by voorbeeld een in ’t begin van 't jaar, genaamt Sonkraen, een ander Kitimbac genoemt, ook wel Ktimbac, ..."
"Songkran" (noun) in Oxford English Dictionary (Online). Retrieved on 17 April 2024. cited in Engelbert Kaempfer. (1727). The history of Japan: giving an account of the ancient and present state and government of that empire (translated by John Gaspar Scheuchzer). "They [sc. the Siamites] have besides several yearly solemn festivals, as for instance, at the beginning of the year, call'd Sonkraen [Ger. Sonkraan]."
The Fine Art Department of Thailand. (2002).
Thai nai chodhmaihet kaempfer [ไทยในจดหมายเหตุแกมป์เฟอร์ (in Thai)]. (5th Ed.) Bangkok: Arthit Communication. 99 pp.
ISBN974-419-467-7. p. 97. "นอกจากนี้ ยังมีพิธีประจำปีอีกหลายอย่าง เช่น พิธีซึ่งทำเมื่อขึ้นปีใหม่เรียกว่าสงกรานต์ (Sonkraen)"
^Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix. (1850). "Utendum est ส in sequentibus", Grammatica Linguæ Thai, AUCTORE D. J. BAPT. PALLEGOIX EPISCOPO MALLENSI VICARIO APOSTOLICO SIAMENSI. Ex typographià collegii Assumptionis B. M. V. in civitate rcgià Krüng Thèph mahá nàkhon sí Ajùthâja, vulgó. BANGKOK: Anno Domini. p. 7 "สีห ปราช สงกรานต, Sí prãt sôngkran"
^Jean-Baptiste Pallegoix. (1854). Description du Royaume Thai ou Siam. Lagny, France: Vialat et Cie. p. 249. "Ils ont en outre, durant le cours de l’année, plusieurs jours de fêtes civiles ou religieuses, qu’ils célèbrent avec grande pompe : 1°Songkran; c’est leur nouvel an, qui tombe ordinairement dans leur cinquième mois; on le célèbre pendant trois jours; ce n’est qu’à cette époque que le peuple apprend des astro-logues, si l’ange de l’année monte un tigre, un bœuf,-un ours, un cheval; une chèvre, un dragon ou quelque autre animal."
^Gray, John Henry. (1879). "Chapter V.: SIAM", A Journey Round the World in the Years 1875-1876-1877. LONDON: Harrison and Sons. 612 pp. p. 137. "This privilege is exercised by the people during the festivals, which are respectively termed the Chinese new year, the Siamese new year, and Songkran."
^Jacob T. Child, Col. (1892). "SONGKRAN HOLIDAYS", The Pearl of Asia: Reminiscences of the Court of a Supreme Monarch; Or, Five Years in Siam. CHICAGO: Donohue, Henneberry & Co. 339 pp. pp. 263.
^Graham, A.W., M.R.A.S. (1912) "Brahmanic Observances", Siam: A Handbook of Practical, Commercial, and Political Information with 99 Illustrations and a Map. LONDON: Alexander Moring, Ltd., The De La More Press. 637 pp. p. 522. "The Sôngkran festival marks the beginning of the new year"
^* Kamarupa Anusandhana Samiti. Journal of the Assam Research Society, Vol. 38, 2007. p. 76.
ISSN2349-7459. "Tai New Year’s festival or Water spraying festival commence from the day of sangken or sangkran or sankranti. The day is open on the first full moon of April."