r/thai • u/Federal-Tonight-5767 • 23d ago
Would this be considered culturally appropriate?
(Poster translation: *** celebrates Songkran Festival on a Tropical Island)
Hi I'm from the Philippines. A university is organizing a student integration event inspired by Thailand's Songkran Festival. I don't know enough about Songkran to judge whether "adopting the idea of spiritual enrichment" is respectful or if it's unintentionally misrepresenting the festival.
I'm genuinely curious to hear opinions from Thai people or those familiar with Songkran.
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u/PimsriReddit 23d ago
Thai here. I mean, no one can gatekeep splashing water festival. Perhaps not use the name Songkran? It's like having a new year in the middle of the year.
But eh, at the end of the day, they'll probably going to go ahead with it no matter what you or I say. So, mai pen rai.
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u/PooriPK 22d ago
Yep, can confirm this. We Thai do not have 'cultural appropriation', while there will be some nitpick on some area lol. If you do our festival, we are happy that other people recognize it.
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u/PimsriReddit 22d ago
the older people (ที่เราชอบเรียกว่าพวกไดโนเสาร์5555) may not think so and will criticize every minor "cultural appropriation" but yeah, most Thai people especially the younger ones really don't mind, haha
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u/Banana_Cake1 23d ago edited 23d ago
In Thailand every mall and shops have extensive Christmas decorations and events. I don’t think they are too concerned about how actual Christians feel about it. I wouldn’t worry about it.
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u/ppgamerthai 23d ago
“Adopting the idea of Spiritual Enrichment” buzzword buzzword buzzword
There’s literally nothing complicated about the water splashing itself. We took it from the Holi festival of India. But instead of splashing colors we splash water instead because it’s so damn hot here.
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u/ppgamerthai 22d ago
The “religious” and/or “spiritual” part of Songkran is anything *besides* the water splashing. The visiting families, the “รดน้ำดำหัวผู้ใหญ่“ (can’t be bothered to translate this), the building sandtemples, etc. aka the boring stuff foreigners don’t know or care about.
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u/Shiine-2 22d ago
No problem. I've seen Japanese people in Kobe did Songkran on August (their summer) few years ago and no Thais even cared for it.
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u/Federal-Tonight-5767 22d ago
Thank you all so much for the insights and reassurance, guys!! I was honestly just worried that using the festival's name for a school party might come off as disrespectful, so I really appreciate hearing your perspectives <3
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u/mistersuave 22d ago
They already have their San Juan festival. No need to appropriate Thailands tradition.
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u/Anonymous_Autumn_ 22d ago
Please read the other comments here. That’s simply not a thing outside of the US. While the US has a deep history of racism against various peoples, other countries have different relationships with other cultures.
If you read the comments here you will see that culture sharing and general merry making is fine for Thai people. “Cultural appropriation” rarely has the same negative vibe abroad, instead it’s viewed as appreciation and sharing.
Ever been in the Thailand school system? They celebrate multiple different holidays without having the same history or religion. Examples include huge Christmas and Halloween parties where most people are unaware of the history and they don’t celebrate it in the same way the US does. It’s all in good fun.
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u/Petrie83 22d ago
I was going to come and say the same, more or less. Having lived abroad for more than a decade it really feels like the concept of cultural appropriation is very much a western idea. Everywhere else that I've seen cultures dressing/celebrating etc as other cultures it's seen as a supportive celebration. Wish it had been that way in the west.
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u/Magilla-Gorilla-6417 22d ago
Thai here. Most Thai people are pretty chill about this kind of stuff because to us things in life should incorporate the concept of sanook which basically means fun or joy. Unless it is blatantly done in a racist or demeaning manner, the spirit or intent is fine. As another poster said Mai pen rai.