The American New Year celebration is not even worthy of comparison against the Thai New Year celebration.
Lasting three days (April 13 through 15), their ceremony involves lots and lots of water. To any ignorant foreigner such as myself, it looks like a huge water fight with water guns, water hoses, buckets, and other creative apparatuses to dispense water on others. People also smear what we later learned to be chalk onto others' faces and bodies. To us, this seemed to be a way to get others completely dirty as an excuse to drench them with water afterwards.
In truth, this started many years ago as a Buddhist tradition where people paid respect to one another by pouring some lustral water on others' hands and shoulders to rinse away the bad that happened throughout the past year. The chalk was used by monks as a mark of blessing. Unfortunately, this beautiful original meaning has been largely lost throughout the years, giving way to a yearly excuse to play and party. However, not everyone has forgotten the original spiritual meaning of this festival. A small minority stand near the less crowded areas and serenely put chalk on others while wishing a happy new year, following with a small respectful bow.
Even for those (myself included) that do not fully comprehend the meaning of this magnificent celebration, the Thai new year is still a very friendly way for people to connect at a personal level. Everyone joins the party: children, elders, tourists, cab drivers, even government officials!
(Or is he a security guard?)
Phuong and I were having a hard time coming up with an analogous American celebration. Phuong pointed out Mardi Gras, where drunkards roam the streets using bead necklaces as currency to persuade women to show their breasts.
I much Prefer Thai New Year.
Sa-wat-di pi mai.
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