Loy Krathong (sky lantern) festival

Loy Krathong
Loy Krathong (or Loi Krathong, Thai ลอยกระทง) is a festival celebrated annually throughout Thailand.


Fireworks and large rafts on the Chao Phraya River, Loy Krathong Festival of Light, Bangkok, November 2004
Loy Krathong is held on the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November.
"Loy" means "to float". "Krathong" is a raft about a handspan in diameter traditionally made from a section of banana tree trunk (although modern-day versions use specially made bread and may use styrofoam), decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves, flowers, candles, incense sticks etc. The reason for using breads to make a raft is to protect the environment. Since having many rafts in the river can create a huge water pollution problem. Bread will eventually become food for fish and other animals in the river. Even though banana leaves are biodegradable, it takes longer time to be degraded than a bread. Therefore, bread is the most environmental friendly choice to make a raft.
During the night of the full moon, many people will float a small raft on a river. Thai people believe that floating a raft in the river is to honor and pay respect to the Goddess of Water. Also floating a raft in the river is to apologize to the Goddess of the Water for the bad things we have done to the river during the past year. That is why Long Krathong festival is held at the end of the year. Governmental offices, corporations and other organizations also build much bigger and more elaborate rafts, and these are often judged in contests. In addition, fireworks and beauty contests take place during the festival.


Letting a Khom Fai float in to the air at the Loy Kratong festival in Mae Jo


Thousands of Khom Fai in Mae Jo
According to the writings of H.M. King Rama IV in 1863, the originally Brahmanical festival was adapted by Buddhists in Thailand as a ceremony to honour the original Buddha, Siddhartha Guatama. Apart from venerating the Buddha with light (the candle on the raft), the act of floating away the candle raft is symbolic of letting go of all one's grudges, anger and defilements, so that one can start life afresh on a better foot. People will also cut their fingernails and hair and add them to the raft as a symbol of letting go of the bad parts of oneself. Many Thai believe that floating a krathong will create good luck, and they do it to honor and thank the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha (พระแม่คงคา).
The beauty contests that accompany the festival are known as "Noppamas Queen Contests". According to legend, Noppamas was a consort of the Sukothai king Loethai (14th century) and she was the first to float decorated krathongs. The Loy Krathong festival is also associated with the start of vegetable carving.
The Thai tradition of Loy Kratong started off in Sukhothai, but is now celebrated throughout Thailand, with the festivities in Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya being particularly well known. In the northern part of Thailand, people celebrate the festival with "Kom Loi" as well. People usually create "Kom Loi" from a thin fabric and let the air inside so that "Kom Loi" can go up in the air like a balloon. This tradition is called "Yi Peng" meaning to celebrate goodness (tam-boon) in the 12th month in Thai lunar calendar. "Yi Peng" festival attracts many tourists both foreigner and Thai people from other parts of Thailand to join and see "Kom Loi" gos up in the air.
Loy Kratong coincides with the Lanna (northern Thai) festival known as "Yi Peng", which, due to a difference between the old Lanna calendar and the Thai calendar, is held on a full moon of the 2nd month of the Lanna calendar. A multitude of Lanna-style sky lanterns (khom fai or khom loi) are launched into the air where they resemble large flocks of giant fluorescent jellyfish gracefully floating by through the skies. These are believed to help rid the locals of troubles and are also taken to decorate houses and streets. The most elaborate Yi Peng celebrations can be seen in Chiang Mai, the ancient capital of the former Lanna kingdom. In the merging of the Yi Peng festival with Loy Krathong, now too thousands of people assemble to float the banana-leaf krathong onto the waterways of Chiang Mai at the same time, honouring the Goddess of Water.[1]