Celebrating Thai New Year
Songkran with Chaophraya
During Songkran, people travel across the globe to spend time with their family and friends and immerse themselves in water fights and street parties that last nearly a whole week! ‘Water fights for nearly a whole week?’ we hear you say…
Well, Songkran is also known as The Water Festival which is to celebrate water as a ritual of cleansing the soul and washing away negativity from the past year, so we suppose there is a meaningful explanation as to why the water guns are out!
The traditional festival takes place between 13th – 15th April every year. It’s a national holiday in Thailand that marks the beginning of the new year. The word ‘Songkran’ comes from the Sanskrit word ‘saṃkrānti’ meaning transformation or change. It derives from the movement of the sun from one position to another in the zodiac. According to its literal meaning in Sanskrit, a Songkran occurs every month. However, the period that Thai people refer to as Songkran happens when the sun moves from Pisces to Aries in the zodiac.
With Thai New Year being one of the biggest celebrations within the Thai culture we wanted to spread the love from Chaophraya.
In past years, we have always focused on this in the month of April and this year it is no different. With much of our team being nationally Thai, we take a lot of pride in ensuring we boast a celebration over the weekend that this national holiday falls. This year we have many things to celebrate the transformation of and this national Thai holiday couldn't be more fitting at this time! We are celebrating more than one reason for change - the reopening of our restaurants and welcoming you back through our doors! Whether it be for outside dining only at this time or the usual Chaophraya experience you know and love, in our heritage and characterful buildings, we are beyond delighted to have a little bit of normality returning. We cannot wait to celebrate this change with you during the next few weeks.
You can view COVID safety measures in place on our COVID-19 page. We can assure you that we are doing all we can to ensure we keep you and our team safe whilst providing and delivering the best Chaophraya experience no matter what circumstances we face.
We hope you are all keeping well and cannot wait to celebrate this transformation together.
Team Chaophraya