JFE Shoji Group company Central Metals (Thailand) Ltd. (CMT) held its own Songkran festival on April 11 on company grounds ahead of the annual Thai New Year holiday period. Employees wore floral-printed shirts, which is the norm at Songkran festivals, and prayed for each other’s safety and the company’s prosperity by spraying holy water on their supervisors and coworkers.
Songkran festivals celebrate the traditional Thai New Year. The three-day holiday, which runs from April 13 to 15, is a time when Thai people participate in traditional ceremonies and celebrations with their families. One such ceremony involves spraying water on each other, which is meant to purify and wash away bad luck. This custom—which originated from the Buddhist tradition of pouring water on statues of Buddha, pagodas, and the hands of the elderly to purify them—has become a popular way to beat the heat during the hottest part of the year.
In recent years, Songkran has become known as a water festival in which passersby enjoy splashing water on each other in the streets. This has led to unique events taking place in different parts of the country, attracting many foreign visitors to Thailand.
This was the first time for CMT to hold a company Songkran festival, and the event succeeded in deepening the friendship between the company’s Thai and Japanese staff and enhancing intracompany communication. The company plans to hold a Songkran festival every year before the formal Thai New Year holiday.