We wake in the morning and shower, perhaps we bathe. We use H2O for a cup of coffee. We have houseplants or even a garden that needs tending. We wash our hands ...

And, we drink those eight cups of water daily - just as we should. However, some people, like our water loving friends in Thailand, go above and beyond. Way Beyond !!!

It is such an essential part of life that it would be strange and even disrespectful not to celebrate H2O. Water is a source of life and joy. Across the globe, cultures celebrate it in unique ways. From vibrant festivals to serene ceremonies, water unites us all. In this post, we’ll explore the top 10 water celebrations around the world. Each event showcases the beauty and significance of water in different cultures. 

Here Are 10 Water Celebrations From Around The Globe

# 1 - Songkran 

Once a year, everyday life comes to a halt for the famous H2O celebration of Songkran. This festival celebrates the traditional New Year along with images of Buddha, their elders, and ancestors. It marks the washing away of bad luck and the welcoming of auspiciousness as everyone enters the new year. One watery tradition is to wash significant statues of Buddha and to douse loved ones. 

Speaking to UNESCO, the President of the Lanna Wisdom Foundation in Chiang Mai, Mr. Chatchawan Thongdeelert, expressed: 

"During Songkran, in Lanna, it is about 'asking for forgiveness,' 'paying respect,' and 'asking for blessings.' Most of the time, we do not get a chance to say sorry. When you do something wrong, to ask for forgiveness is very hard. Songkran is the period when young people ask for forgiveness so that they can start anew. It is about bringing relationships, love, and the beauty of family and kinship back."

# 2 - Dai Water Splashing Festival 

The Water Splashing Festival, held in the province of Yunnan in Xishuangbanna, China, is a three-day celebration of the wet stuff. It forms part of the Dai Calendar's New Year festivities. Among an assortment of traditions and celebratory fun, there are many odes to wawa, such as: 

• The 'Bathing of Buddha' on the third day.
• Locals and visitors splashing and soaking one another following the splashing of this adorned Buddhist statue.

# 3 - Chaul Chnam Thmey

Chaul Chnam Thmey is a three-day celebration of Cambodia's traditional solar New Year. The following traditions form part of the festivities: 

• Decorating houses and presenting food to monks at the monastery on the first day.
• Donating money to the disadvantaged on the second day.
• Washing Buddha statues, monks, and the elderly with holy fragrant H2O on the third day. They believe this will cleanse individuals of immoral behaviors and negative emotions while granting them good luck.

# 4 - Aadi Perukku

The Tamil people of India celebrate Aadi Perukku to commemorate the monsoon season, specifically the God of monsoon, river Kaveri, and mother nature. The festivities and ceremonies include: 

• Placing rice flowers and jaggery lamps via mango leaves into lakes and rivers. 
• Performing a worship ritual called Puja for a steady influx of  the elixir of life.

Global Water Bluline G5CTRO Countertop 4 Stage Reverse Osmosis Hot Cold Ambient Bottleless Water Cooler

$799.00

Our Global Water Bluline G5CTRO Countertop 4 Stage Reverse Osmosis Hot Cold Ambient Bottleless Water Cooler is the heart of a healthy space hydration in...… read more

# 5 - Underwater Music Festival

The Underwater Music Festival, held in the Florida Keys, is a modern H2O celebration dedicated to coral preservation awareness and environmentally friendly diving. Speaking to Keys Voices, co-founder Bill Becker said:

"The more people realize what's down there and enjoy it, the more they're likely to protect it."

While it was closed for a few years due to low funding, this festival has been going since 1984, attracting snorkelers and divers. Festivities include: 

• Listening to tunes under the sea with the help of underwater speakers. The melodies are filled with aquatic themes such as "Fins" by Jimmy Buffet, the Beatles' "Octopus Garden," or Ariel's ethereal mermaid vocals. 
• Attendees dressed up in sea creature and mermaid costumes.

# 6 - Vardavar 

With its roots in paganism, Vardavar is officially an Armenian Christian holiday. It celebrates the Feast of the Transfiguration of the Lord 98 days after Easter. 

According to the most recent Wikipedia Page for Vardavar ...

Vardavar's history dates back to pagan times. The ancient festival is traditionally associated with the goddess Astghik, who was the goddess of water, beauty, love, and fertility. The festivities associated with this religious observance of Astghik were named “Vardavar” because Armenians offered her roses as a celebration (vard means "rose" in Armenian and var means "to burn/be burning", this is why it was celebrated in the harvest time). After the Christianization of Armenia, the Armenian Apostolic Church identified the rose with the transfiguration of Jesus and Vardavar continued to be celebrated along with the Feast of the Transfiguration. Some claim it comes from a tradition dating back to Noah, in which he commanded that his descendants should sprinkle water on each other and let doves fly as a symbol of remembrance of the Flood.

The public holiday is full of locals playfully drenching one another in Adam’s Ale with buckets, hoses, or whatever they can get their hands on. Ruzanna Tsaturya n spoke to Roger Catlin from Smithsonian Magazine. A curator at Armenia's National Academy of Science's Institute of Archeology and Ethnography, she said: 

"[Vardavar is] the only day not ashamed to get wet and to be that way in the streets and in public places, and it's a unique opportunity to play with kids — the same games they are playing. Usually, we have no time to play with them because everyone is so busy, so it's a very fun day."

Its original pagan legend is linked to the Astghik goddess of h2o, who was said to have poured h2o from roses. It is also related to the Biblical Great Flood. 

# 7 - Wattah Wattah Festival

Each year, on June 24, the locals of San Juan come together for the Wattah Wattah Festival. Festivities include:

• Dousing one another in H2O, also known as "basaan." This is in honor of San Juan's prosperity or "pouring of blessings." It also honors Jesus Christ's baptism by the Patron Saint, St. John the Baptist.
• Parading and wondrous street dancing among an onslaught of .

# 8 - Pi Mai

Lao New Year, known as Pi Mai, commemorates H2O in numerous ways. Festivities include: 

• H2O fighting and odes to cleanse the past year's bad luck via street parades. 

• Pouring fragrant water onto Buddha images. The locals collect the elixir of life that runs off the Buddha images to pour onto their loved ones as a blessing. 

# 9 - Bom Chaul Chnam

The Bom Chaul Chnam festival, which takes place in Cambodia throughout the Khmer New Year, is full of H2O celebrations.  Watch as Cambodian students from Group 6 create their aqua poster for Bam Chaul Chnam.

Festivities include: 

• On the third day of Bom Chaul Chanam, The washing of elders and Buddha statues—is a form of blessing. according to Wikipedia  

"Buddhists wash the Buddha statues and their elders with perfumed water. Bathing images of Buddha is a symbolic practice to wash bad actions away, like cleaning dirt from household items with water. It is also thought to be a kind deed that will bring longevity, good luck, happiness and prosperity in life. By washing their grandparents and parents, the children can obtain from them best wishes and good pieces of advice to live the life for the rest of the year."

• Water-splashing ceremonies are held alongside street celebrations, vivid decor, and music. 

• The Tonle Sap River boat racing competition

# 10 - Naval Battle of Vallecas

The Naval Battle in the Vallecas neighborhood of Madrid began in 1981 when young people used fire hydrants to escape the intense heat. Since then, it has become a day of wet and wonderful dousing. 

They also link this celebration to social action. Every year, it comes with a collective demand for whatever issue they deem necessary.

There are so many aspects to these festivals, with some focusing on respecting the elders, others washing away bad luck, marking days in honor of special deities, and more—it seems that it is worth repeating that to celebrate wawa is to celebrate life. 

Before you go - watch "Vallekas, A Water Utopia", showing a water fight festival that takes place in Madrid, Spain, on the same day as the Catholic holiday of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.several young Spaniards from a poor neighbourhood in Madrid were suffering from a heatwave. That's why they started to throw buckets of h2oin the streets and at each other. Little did they know, the following year, the streets of their district Vallecas, self-proclaimed they were now a seaport and a Naval Battle began.