Every year from April 13 to 15, the Songkran festival, marking the traditional Thai New Year, takes place across Thailand. In addition to visiting local temples, people flock to the streets to take part in wide-ranging water fights. The throwing of water has traditionally been a sign of respect and well-wishing, as revelers hope to wash away bad luck.
The Joyful Splashing of Thailand’s Songkran Water Festival
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Read moreA boy reacts as a bucket of water is splashed on him during the Songkran water festival to celebrate Thai New Year in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 13, 2015. #
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Read moreA man plays a trumpet while people are splashed by elephants with water during the celebration of the Songkran water festival in Thailand's Ayutthaya province, north of Bangkok, on April 11, 2016. #
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Read moreA water fight takes place during Songkran Festival celebrations in Bangkok on April 13, 2016. #
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Read morePeople riding on a motorbike react as a boy splashes water on them during traditional Thai New Year celebrations in Bangkok on April 13, 2015. #
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Read moreA zookeeper interacts with Tukta at Taronga Zoo on April 13, 2016, in Sydney, Australia. The zoo's three female elephants were painted as they are in Thailand to recognize the Thai New Year. #
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Read moreA reveler reacts during a Songkran water fight in Bangkok on April 13, 2016. #
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Read moreThai locals and foreigners take part in a city-wide water fight on April 15, 2015, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. #
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Read moreRevelers enjoy foam and splashing water during Songkran festival celebrations in Bangkok on April 14, 2013. #
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Read moreA man splashes water on people on the the back of a truck during the Songkran water festival to celebrate Thai New Year in Bangkok on April 13, 2015. #
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Read moreA boy takes part in a city-wide water fight on April 15, 2015, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. #
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Read moreRevelers react during a water fight at Songkran Festival celebrations in Bangkok on April 13, 2016. #
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Read moreA woman reacts while being splashed with foam and water during Songkran festival celebrations in Bangkok on April 12, 2015. #
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Read moreA Thai woman pours an offering of scented water over a Buddha statue during the Songkran festival on April 15, 2015 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. #
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Read moreElephants spray people with water in celebration of the Songkran water festival in Ayutthaya Province, north of Bangkok, on April 11, 2016. #
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Read moreA child swims in the moat during the Songkran water festival on April 15, 2014, in Chiang Mai, Thailand. #
Taylor Weidman / Getty
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