Come and join the Songkran Festival at Wat San Fran. Songkran marks the beginning of the traditional Thai New Year and is also Thailand’s biggest water festival. Traditionally, Thai people sprinkle water on their family members and ask elders for blessings of fortune. More than just fun, the Songkran Festival is also about cleaning, purification, and a fresh start. Buddhists customarily visit temples during Songkran where scented water is poured on the Buddha’s holy relics, statues, and onto the hands of Buddhist monks as mark of respect.

Schedule

10:30 AM   Alms Round
10:50 AM   Lunch Offering
11:00 AM   Sermon
12:15 PM   Sanghadana (Giving of charity to the monks)
12:30 PM   Sacred Watering Ceremony (Pouring holy water onto the sacred relics of the Buddha, and onto the hands of monks and elders of the temple)
1:00 PM   Fun and Games at Golden Gate Park