Loy Krathong, A Thai Festival
A Thanksgiving Ceremony that Venerates Buddha and Brings Good Luck
Oct 24, 2007
On Sunday, November 24th, at the time of the full moon in the twelfth month in the Thai lunar calendar, the Thais celebrate Loy Krathong.
It is thought that the festival originally came from India as a Hindu Festival similar to Diwali, as thanksgiving to the deity of the Ganges with floating lanterns for giving life throughout the year.
One of the most popular festivals in the year, this involves small, beautiful, and uniquely Thai rafts, about a hand span in diameter, being released on water. These rafts are called Krathongs (Loy means ‘to float’).
Traditionally these Krathongs are made from a section of banana tree trunk decorated with elaborately-folded banana leaves which form a basic water-lily or lotus flower shape. These are then transformed by the addition of flickering candles, flowers, incense sticks, and sometimes coins and amulets.
Something similar takes place in Rio, Brazil, on the night of December 31st when small rafts like these containing alcohol, a cigar, some food, and a flower, are launched from Copacabana beach at nidnight, with a shower of white carnations. In this case, their hopes go with the boats but if they drift back to shore it is a sign that the water goddess is not happy with them and the coming year will be full of bad luck.
According to Buddhist teachings, Loy Krathong venerates the Lord Buddha with light (the candle), and the act of floating away the raft is symbolic of letting go of ones anger and bad thoughts, so that life can be started afresh.
Some people will also cut their fingernails and cut off their hair which they will add to the raft as a symbol of letting go of vanity.
Many Thais believe that floating a krathong creates good luck and it is done to honour the Goddess of Water (as the Brazilians do).
It is a festival of fun and enjoyment, indulged in by children, grandparents and heads of business. The main purpose and highlight of the festival is when the krathong are set adrift. The raft owners will offer prayers to the gods as they hold the krathong respectfully, before they launch the raft on the waters which it is hoped, will carry their sins and any bad luck away with it.
The Chao Phraya River that meanders through Bangkok is a favourite place for the city dwellers and tourists to head for, not least because of the dazzling spectacle of the illuminated boats that process up and down the river and the subsequent fireworks. Government offices, corporations and big organizations also build rafts, but theirs are more elaborate and are often judged in contests. Other venues worth visiting for Loy Krathong are Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya.
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