VIDEO LETTER FROM ASIA
Wet all over: Songkran and the world’s largest water-gun fight
Every year, to celebrate their New Year, a national holiday which begins April 13 but ran to the 15th until several years ago when the government decided, what the hell, make it a week, so that people could travel home to soak each other, Thailand holds its Songkran Festival. This unusual but glorious tradition is marked by unquestionably the world’s largest water fight, where everyone squirts copious amounts of water, in whatever way they can, at everyone else.
(In 2024, by the way, Songkran was further elongated to three weeks. Thais know how to celebrate!)
Ostensibly, the festival is part absolution — the symbolism of drenching each other is washing away your sins of the previous year in a nationwide, open air, non-judgemental confessional. But mostly, really, it’s just a lot of fun. While, I suppose, cleaning the slate for a whole new year of sinning!
Our intrepid Asian Editor, Mike Ragsdale, who moves in mysterious ways as you may well know — showing up here, showing up there, showing up in the office never — participated in last year’s grand battle of the streets in Bangkok with his wife Angela. This is his video report.
Bob Guccione, Jr
