Songkhan 2024: the water festival at the Wat Pho pagoda in Breux-Jouy (91)

After the Wat Thammapatip pagoda near Moissy-Cramayel in Seine-et-Marne, it's the turn of the Wat Pho pagoda in Essonne to celebrate Songkhan or Songkran 2024, the great water festival.

• To be read
• Tips for the week of April 29 - May 5, 2024 in Paris: free or inexpensive outings
• What to do in Paris and the Ile-de-France region in April 2024? Our good plans and ideas to discover
• Amusement parks and funfairs in and around Paris, 2024 program

Corresponding to the Thai New Year, Songkhan is a popular festival in Southeast Asia. Celebrated in certain pagodas in the Paris region, the tradition has made its way to the Île-de-France region, where you can immerse yourself in Thai culture over a weekend packed with entertainment.

So, to celebrate Songkran in style, Wat Pho pagoda is offering a wide-ranging program of festivities, including folk dance performances, open-air khon (a form of masked dance theater), a Thai boxing demonstration, numerous Thai street-food stalls and the Miss Songkran parade.

Songkhan 2024 program:

Saturday, April 27

• 2:00 pm: Ablution of the Buddha statue, construction of a sand Chedi, food stalls, Thai market.
• 4:00 pm: Pong-lang concert preview (the Pong-lang is a traditional musical instrument from the Isan region in north-east Thailand).
• 5:00 pm: Putthaphisek the great Buddha statue, celebration of the main Buddha statue.
• 7:00 pm: Open-air Khon show (short preview), Khon, masked and danced theater in Thailand. Charity raffle, Ram Wong, folk dance.
• 9pm: end of festival

Sunday, April 28

• 09:00: Doors and stands open
• 10:30am: Buddhist ceremony, Tak Bat, morning quest, offering of food to monks, Pah pa (off-season offering of robes and other needs to monks), Bangsukun, offering of requiem cloth (dedication of merits to ancestors).
• 11:30 am: Offering lunch to the monks (almsgiving)
• 1:00 pm: Maha Songkran Thai New Year festivities, parade with Miss Songkran
• 2:00 pm: Songkran festival opening ceremony, sprinkling water on the hands of monks and senior citizens to ask for blessings, various fun activities.
• 3:00 pm: Pong-lang concert
• 4:00 pm: Open-air Khon show
• 5:00 p.m.: Ancient Muay Thai
• 6:00 pm: Ram Wong, folk dance
• 7:00 pm: Closing concert by Ponglang
• 8:00 pm: End of the festival

The event is free and open to all: all you have to do is visit the Wat Pho pagoda on the weekend of April 27 and 28, 2024, near Breux-Jouy. Festivities run from 9am to 8pm on Sunday and from 2pm to 8pm on Saturday. Happy Songkran 2024 to all!