Thailand's Nationwide Water Fight

I have fond memories of water fights as a kid—chasing my brothers around the yard with dinky squirt guns and repurposed mustard bottles. I recall three rules. No squirts to the face. No squirting adults. And no leaving the yard.

Thailand’s weeklong nationwide water festival ups the game and breaks all the rules. Strangers mercilessly splash and shoot each other, young and old. Gangs of normally-well-behaved adults (temporarily transformed into gleeful 10-year-olds) ride in the back of pick-up trucks dumping buckets of ice water on each other on the highway. Motorcyclists seem to be a particularly attractive target, causing an alarming number of accidents. Some parts of the city are much tamer than others, but there is no “safe” zone.

For the past 6 years we’ve mostly kept our celebration to the limits of our own neighborhood. This year, being the first year that our girls will tolerate water to the face, we ventured a little farther downtown for the festivities.

To our surprise, we stumbled on a parade which we thought had ended a couple hours before. (Apparently it was a very LONG parade.) In my culture, parades mean no water play. But not here. While some had a little more reverence for the significance of the parade, many Thais were throwing buckets of water on to the participants and by-standers both.

Large vats and inflatable pools were ready for speedy-refills and hoses provided a continuous spray.

Our girls were quick to join in the play with some of the other bystanders both young and old.

For many, the week long water fights are simply a way to have fun and survive the 100-degree temperature. But others hold on to the significance of the holiday's origins. Traditionally it's a time to ask for forgiveness and pray for one's elders. While we differ on how this is done, it's a great bridge to open conversation about our own beliefs.

Pray for Thailand during this week of celebration. And pray for us as we carefully find opportunities to strengthen relationships and share life together. Normally we don't do this with blasts of cool water, but this week, I suppose, is the exception.