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Traditional Thai New Year Celebration Held in Florissant
The traditional Thai New Year Festival, the Songkran Festival, was held on April 22 at Wat Phrasriratanaram, the Thai Buddist Temple located at 890 Lindsay Lane. Festival-goers sampled a variety of ever popular Thai and Lao cuisine.
A Tai New Year parade was held on the Temple grounds and was followed by entertainment, including the Miss Songkran Beauty Pageants, and Thai Boxing, Classical Dance, and Live Music. Thai Buddhist Ceremonies, such as Watering Buddha’s Images, were also held.
Mayor Tom Schneider, who attended the Songkran Festival, said, “Florissant has a tradition of two centuries of hospitality and welcoming, and we are proud to be the Midwestern headquarters for the Thailand Buddhist followers who celebrated the traditional Thai New Year.
“I had the honor to meet the Royal Thai Consul General, Saksee Phromyothi, who informed me that since 1818 the Kingdom of Thailand and the United States have been close allies and diplomatic partners.” As conveyed by Schneider, Phromyothi shared that Thailand is “the oldest ally of the United States” and “was the only independent nation in Southeast Asia during European Colonialism.”
The Wat Phrasriratanaram Temple has been a part of the Florissant community for 30 years and houses 4 – 5 Buddhist monks, who were ordained in Thailand according to the Thai Theravada tradition, The monks have been in service for 10 – 15 years.
