During Songkran Festival, Buddhist devouts make merit by providing props to Pho tree branches that overarch precariously. Pho  trees are known as sacred trees for  Buddhists as Lord Buddha has meditated in a cool shade under a Pho tree until achieving enlightenment.  Propping up Pho trees has developed into prayers for longevity.

               In addition, there is a religious service known as Bangsukun dedicated to the ancestors. The ceremony is usually officiated by monks in the  monastery. The guardian spirits of the villages and towns receive also their annual offering.

               In Chiang Mai province, some families have also  prepared cloth ceremonial flags called “flags of victory.”(Tung Chai) These are usually associated with mortuary rites and dedicated to the dead because Songkran is a special occasion for the Thais to make merit to their ancestors.  The flags of victory have two tail-like appendages, by which helpless ancestors who have been reborn in hell can hoist themselves to a higher level of existence.  Some people do special merit makings by releasing birds and fish. In the hottest month of April,  fish in small streams which are generally dried up cannot survive unless they are released in the rivers or canals. By doing such meritorious acts , people can naturally preserve fish.

               Songkran is the day for considerateness marked with the sprinkling water over the Buddha images, the bathing of revered persons, the water throwing at each other and the blessings. These activities reflect the caring spirit among members of the Thai society.  The transmission of Songkran festival from generation to generation is actually  to preserve and protect the typical Thai values particularly sincere consideration for others as embodied in the virtue known as namchai, the spirit of giving  and forgiving, the paying respect as well as the feeling of gratitude to others including the love and care  for nature and environment.

               During the three days of Songkran, most of the people amuse themselves by throwing water at one another. If a stranger passes by, he is sure to get soaked too. Everyone is happy with the water throwing. Indeed, drops of water bring fresh and fun during the height of summer in April. Songkran is not a mere amusement, but a fertility rite to procure an abundance of rain by a magical way on the principle of “like produces like” of imitative magic.The idea of celebrating the traditional Thai New Year among older generations is  to safely apply scented water on one another's hands.