NEWS and MUSINGS

It's a week ago already but what a day it was here last Sunday! Masses of sun, smiles and water! A really happy day!
Of course, really and truly Songkrahn is nothing whatsoever to do with Buddhism, even though the BBC described it as the Buddhist New Year and others might have suggested it was a Buddhist festival. As I pointed out here last week, unlike traditional Buddhist festivals that follow the lunar calendar and usually fall on full moon days, Songkrahn follows the more familiar solar calendar and occurs every April 13th, 14th and 15th. It's when the sun leaves Pisces and enters Aries and it is this transition that marks the beginning of a New Year.
With any new year or birthday comes the chance to begin afresh and hopefully to do things better. With that in mind, at Songkrahn, with the spreading of water, respect is given to the Buddha, to the Sangha, to elders and to each other. And I hope that the joy and happiness we saw here last week will stay with you all, at least until Songkrahn next year.
There is an album of pictures if you click the Photos tab.