Songkran 2027: dates, meaning and what Thai families do

Songkran 2027 is Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 April. If you have Thai family, you probably know it as the week the group chat fills with water-gun videos, and the week Yai asks, gently or not so gently, whether you’re coming home.

Here are the dates, what the festival means, and what actually happens in a Thai family over those three days, wherever you’ll be spending them.

When is Songkran 2027?

Songkran 2027 runs from Tuesday 13 to Thursday 15 April. All three days are on the Bank of Thailand’s official list of 2027 bank holidays (notification 37/2569, announced 17 August 2026), as Nation Thailand reported on 28 August 2026.

No substitute days apply: all three days fall on weekdays. Because they sit in the middle of the week, Nation Thailand notes Songkran 2027 doesn’t make a long weekend on its own. Take Monday 12 and Friday 16 April off, though, and you get nine days in a row, from Saturday 10 to Sunday 18 April.

For every other day off in 2027, see our Thai public holidays 2027 list.

What does Songkran mean?

Songkran, สงกรานต์ (song-graan), is the traditional Thai New Year. The word comes from the Sanskrit saṅkrānti, “to move”: the sun moving into a new sign of the zodiac, which in mid-April means into Aries.

It used to be the official New Year too. Nation Thailand explains that Songkran was New Year’s Day until 1889, when King Chulalongkorn moved it to 1 April, and that in 1941 the government moved the start of the year to 1 January. So Thailand now has two new years, and Songkran is the one with the homecomings. Our guide to New Year wishes for your Thai family covers the January one and how the two differ.

UNESCO, which added Songkran to its list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity in December 2023, describes it as a time to reunite with family, pay respect to older adults, ancestors and Buddha images, and symbolically wash away misfortune. Water carries all of that: UNESCO calls pouring water “a significant act during Songkran, symbolizing cleansing, reverence and good fortune.”

What do Thai families do at Songkran?

Every family has its own version. These are the pieces most of them share.

Going home

Songkran is the big trip home of the year. Nation Thailand describes millions of people who study or work outside their home province travelling back to their families for the three-day holiday. Bangkok gets noticeably quieter, and the house in the province gets noticeably louder.

If you live abroad, this is often the week the family hopes you’ll fly in. If you can’t, a call on 13 April means a lot. Our video call with Yai phrases walk you through one from hello to goodbye.

Making merit at the temple

Many families start the day at the temple. Wikipedia’s Songkran article notes that mornings often begin with merit-making, ทำบุญ (tham bun): offering food to monks. Nation Thailand adds pouring scented water over Buddha images, releasing fish and birds, and, especially in the Northeast, making merit for relatives who have died. Some temples invite people to carry sand into the grounds, and Wikipedia notes that in the Central region people build small sand pagodas at the temple as merit.

If you’re going along, our temple etiquette guide covers what to wear and how to behave when your family makes merit.

The water blessing for elders

The heart of a family Songkran is รดน้ำดำหัว (rot naam dam hua). The younger generation gently pours scented water over the hands of parents, grandparents and other elders, and asks for their blessing. It’s quiet and slow, the opposite of the street outside. Nation Thailand describes it as anointing elders’ hands with scented water for blessings, and the elders answer with wishes for the year ahead.

How it goes in practice:

• Pour gently over their hands. A little scented water is plenty; this part is about respect, not splashing.
• Wai before and after. Our guide to the Thai wai shows how high your hands go for a grandparent.
• Give a short wish, then listen. The elder’s blessing back is usually longer than yours, and that’s the best part.

It suits the calendar: in Thailand, 13 April is also Elderly Day (set by a cabinet resolution in 1982) and 14 April is Family Day (approved in 1989), according to Thai Wikipedia’s Songkran article. Wikipedia’s page on Thai public holidays also lists the 14th as Family Day.

Water play

Then everyone goes outside and gets soaked. Wikipedia’s Songkran article describes public water fights, with major streets closed to traffic, as a symbol of ritual cleansing. With family, it is usually gentler: a bucket, a bowl, a nephew with a water gun, and someone holding the phones in a plastic bag.

A tip from the trip home: if you’re the guest from abroad, you will be a target. Put your passport somewhere dry before you leave the house.

What do you say to Yai at Songkran?

Start with “Happy Songkran”, then wish her good health. Add your polite ending and a wai.

สุขสันต์วันสงกรานต์

suk-san wan song-graan

สุขสันต์วันสงกรานต์ครับ

suk-san wan song-graan khrap

สุขสันต์วันสงกรานต์ค่ะ

suk-san wan song-graan kha

Who is speaking?

ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

ขอให้ยายสุขภาพแข็งแรงนะ

khor hai yaai suk-kha-phaap khaeng raeng na

ขอให้ยายสุขภาพแข็งแรงนะครับ

khor hai yaai suk-kha-phaap khaeng raeng na khrap

ขอให้ยายสุขภาพแข็งแรงนะคะ

khor hai yaai suk-kha-phaap khaeng raeng na kha

Who is speaking?

ครับ said by a manค่ะ said by a woman

Draft: waiting for a native speaker’s review.

Swap the word for Yai for the right grandparent. If she answers with a long blessing and you catch only half, that’s fine: it’s a blessing, and it’s for you. Our New Year wishes guide has more on receiving one politely.

Is there Songkran outside Thailand?

Yes: Thai temples and communities abroad hold their own Songkran celebrations in April, often on the nearest weekend, so check your local temple’s page.

Songkran is on UNESCO’s list of the world’s living heritage, alongside Khon and Thai massage: see Thailand on UNESCO’s living-heritage list.

Big family days, practised

In Reply Thai, Songkran lives in Big family days, next to birthdays and temple visits: the Songkran greeting, the health wish for Yai, and the reply to her blessing, practised out loud so they’re ready on 13 April. Coming soon to iPhone.

Reply Thai for iPhoneComing soon

Thai words on this page are a draft until a native speaker has reviewed them.