Via Wikipedia: The Songkran festival from the Sanskrit word saṃkrānti or literally “astrological passage” is celebrated in Thailand as the traditional New Year’s Day. The most obvious celebration of Songkran is the throwing of water upon others. Thais roam the streets with containers of water or water guns. In addition, many Thais will have small bowls of beige colored talc sold cheaply and mixed with water which is then smeared on the faces and bodies of random passerbys as a blessing for the new year. Read more here.
Ambassador Kristie Kenney and the staff of US Embassy Bangkok celebrating the new year below.
Wondering what a snake, a candy box, an enormous lai xi, and a group of singing and dancing Consulate employees have in common? Take a look!
Click on image to view the video in YouTube
The Lunar New Year video features Consul General Stephen Young and the staff of the U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong and Macau.
This is not the first time post did a video for the lunar year, and this reminds us a lot of US Embassy Bangkok’s New Year video earlier this year, but this is way better than the previous ones they’ve done.
Happy Lunar Year of the Dragon (2012)
Happy Lunar Year of the Rabbit (2011)
Wishing all our readers good fortune and prosperity in the Year of the Snake!
Consul General Jim Dickmeyer greets Honest Ed (background) and Tecumseh along with their riders, Sgt. Jim Patterson and Staff Insp. Bill Wardle, respectively. The horses and the police officers – all members of the Toronto Police Service’s Mounted Unit – will take part in President Obama’s inauguration in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 21st. The CG presented the horses and their riders with Canada-U.S.A. pins to wear at the event.
Below is US Embassy Thailand’s charming and totally cute video greeting for the new year. With Ambassador Kristie A. Kenney, and her DCM Judith B. Cefkin joined by various sections of the embassy, other embassy officers (watch out for the embassy spokesperson), the U.S. Marines, the chauffeurs, the cafeteria staff (with their ladles), USCG Chiang Mai and USAID, the video notes that 2013 celebrates 180 years of friendship between the United States and the Kingdom of Thailand. Don’t miss the bloopers!
Music: Ruen Rerng Ta-lerng Sok by Soontaraporn [Lyrics below]
วันนี้วันดี ปีใหม่
Today is the New Year’s Day
(Wannee wan dee pee mai)
ท้องฟ้าแจ่มใสพาใจสุขสันต์
The blue sky makes us joyous
(Thong fah fam sai pah jai sook san)
ยิ้มให้กันในวันปีใหม่
Give each other a smile to welcome the New Year
(Yim hai gun nai wan pee mai)
โกรธเคืองเรื่องใดจงอภัยให้กัน
And forgive each other, don’t hold any grudges
(Grode kueng rueng dai chong ah pai hai gun)
หมดสิ้นกันที ปีเก่า
Enough with the old year
(Mode sin gun tee pee khao)
เรื่องทุกข์เรื่องเศร้าอย่าเขลาคิดมัน
Stop thinking about all the sadness and sorrow
(Rueng took rueng sao yah klao kid mun)
ตั้งต้นชีวิตกันใหม่
Let’s start anew together
(Tang ton chee wit gun mai)
ให้มันสดใสสุขไปทั่วกัน
With days full of happiness
(Hai mun sod sai sook pai tua gun)
เฮ เฮ เฮเฮ้เฮเฮเห่ สุขไปทั่วกัน
Hey hey hey hey…. Happiness is all around
(Hey hey hey… Sook pai tua gun)
รื่นเริง เถลิงศกใหม่
Let’s celebrate the New Year!
(Ruen rerng ta lerng sok mai)
ช่า รื่นเริง เถลิงศกใหม่
Cha! Let’s celebrate the New Year!
(Cha! Ruen rerng ta lerng sok mai)
รวมจิตร่วมใจ ทำบุญร่วมกัน
Put our minds together and do some good
(Ruam chit Ruam chai thum boon ruam gun)
ทำบุญกันตามประเพณี
Honor our tradition and make merits
(Tham boon gun tam pra pay nee)
กุศลราศรีบรรเจิดเฉิดฉัน
And the best will come our way
(Ku son ra see bun cherd ched chan)
พี่น้อง ร่วมชาติเดียวกัน
Our brothers and sisters
(Pee nong ruam chad diew gun)
พี่น้อง ร่วมชาติเดียวกัน
Our brothers and sisters
(Pee nong ruam chad diew gun)
ขอให้สุขสันต์ ทั่วกัน เอย
We wish you all a Happy New Year.
(Kor hai sook san tua gun ei)
นอย ทิงนองนอย น้อยหน่อยนอยน้อย หน่อยทิงนองนอย
La la la la la la ….
(Noi noi noi noi noi…)
You guys are spectacular! Cha! Ruen rerng ta lerng sok mai! And may 2013 be a better year for us all!
I’m taking off for the next several days, traveling west to see family and friends. Hope to have something new for you next year.
Wishing you all a wonderful Holiday Season with loved ones and friends and a New Year of good health and happiness. I leave you with a few holiday greetings from our posts in Finland, Estonia and what might be our all time fave, from Poland. US Embassy Warsaw’s holiday vid is now at 178,001 views!
Ambassador and Mrs. Bruce Oreck for the US Embassy Helsinki in Finland
Ambassador Jeffrey Levine at the USEmbassy Tallinn Holiday Tree Lighting
US Embassy Warsaw with Ambassador Mull and embassy staff
The video below is from US Embassy Warsaw with Ambassador to Poland Stephen Mull (at the 0:07 mark) and all the American and Polish staff at the United States Embassy in Poland in Mariah Carey’s All I Want For Christmas Is You.
You guys made us smile today, thank you. Sending you wishes for a happy and safe holidays across the miles!
At US Embassy Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), the American staff and family members home cooked and served a real American Thanksgiving lunch for the embassy’s Malaysian employees. Ambassador Paul Jones who helped serve lunch gave a shout out via FB to Victoria Station — “especially chef Haji Jean-Luc Lundy, Alex Lee and Vivian Low, for complementing our home cooked meal with delicious halal Thanksgiving dishes so that everyone could enjoy the occasion together.”
Photo from US Embassy KL/FB
The Thai-American celebrity chef Tommy Tang and Ambassador Kristie Kenney of US Embassy Bangkok (Thailand) prepared a Thanksgiving feast together for the children at Duang Pratheep Foundation. The foundation founded in 1978 to address the problems that have its roots in poverty and deprivation. Its permanent building which opened in 1992 is reportedly Thailand’s first comprehensive and resource center for the slum community.
Photo by US Embassy Bangkok/FB
Ambassador David Huebner of US Embassy Wellington (New Zealand) at the annual Thanksgiving lunch with the Downtown Community Ministry.
Photo via US Embassy NZ/Flickr (click on photo to view the slide show in Flickr)
At US Embassy Jakarta (Indonesia) Ambassador Scot Marciel and his wife Mae hosted around 100 young Indonesian alumni of U.S. exchange programs for Thanksgiving dinner at their residence.
Photo via US Embassy Jakarta/Flickr
At US Embassy Seoul (South Korea), Ambassador Sung Kim shares Thanksgiving dinner with English Teaching Assistants in The Fulbright Program.
Photo from US Embassy Seoul/FB
I hope you all have a good Thanksgiving week with loved ones and friends. To readers, followers, friends and champions of this blog, thank you for your thoughtfulness and continued support. I learn something from you everyday.
Since November 10, 1775, the men and women of the Marine Corps have served our country with uncommon valor and distinction. And every year U.S. Embassy employees around the world express their respect and deep appreciation for the mission of the U.S. Marine Corps and the role they play in securing diplomatic missions around the world.
Below is Ambassador Theodore Britton who served as the chief of mission to Barbados and to the Eastern Caribbean from 1974-1977. In 2011 he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, the nation’s highest civilian honor, for his duty as part of the first set of black Marines who received basic training at Montford Point, a facility at Camp Lejeune, N.C., between 1942 and 1949.
Did you know that the first African-American U.S. Ambassador to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Theodore Britton joined the Marine Corps on January 14, 1944 and fought in World War II. Ambassador Britton (center left), here with Ambassador Larry Palmer and some members of the Marine Corps, was a guest speaker at the Marine Ball recently. (Photo via US Embassy Barbados)
An American diplomatic mission to Grenada was established on February 25, 1975, when Ambassador Theodore R. Britton presented his credentials in St. George’s, Grenada. He also was Ambassador to Barbados, and was resident at Bridgetown.
The US Ambassador to Cambodia Bill Todd blogged that this year the embassy folks had a great time introducing their Cambodian colleagues to the true spirit of Halloween – being scared! These guys even had a Neighborhood Zombie Watch!
Ambassador Todd attacked by zombies at the Front Office (Photo from ambo blog)
Fondest memories of Halloween was trick o’ treating with tots at embassy offices. At some posts you get a contest for best decorations or scariest digs. At other posts the local staff even gets into the act.
Looks like they all had a great time. Read more here. This post will be updated as soon as the congressional investigation commence.
US Embassy Tbilisi fbposted: “Look who joined the US Embassy Tbilisi to celebrate Halloween!” There is no truth to the rumors that Ambassador Richard Norland masqueraded as batman.
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