FESTIVALS WITH A SIGHT TO REMEMBER

Come November time in Thailand, you will be treated with a picturesque and romantic view of waterways and skies across the country all lit up with floating krathongs and lanterns. We all have the Loy Krathong and Yee Peng festivals to thank for that! While they are two different festivals, they’re usually celebrated at the same time. For the most part, Yee Peng is only celebrated in North Thailand while Loy Krathong is celebrated throughout the country. For Loy Krathong, decorated mini rafts are set afloat on the water while for Yee Peng, paper lanterns are released into the sky. In North Thailand, the Loy Krathong festival coincides with Yee Peng or Yi Peng festival and they’re often celebrated together. During Yee Peng, locals will release paper lanterns into the sky to welcome a brighter future. Many will recognise it as the Tangled-like lantern festival! The sky lanterns, also known as khom loi, are made using thin rice paper, bamboo and fuel cells. Many make a wish before releasing their lanterns and it’s been said that if it stays lit until it’s out of sight, your wishes will come true!

     Loy Krathong Festival in Thailand
Loy Krathong is one of Thailand’s national festivals. It was announced as an item on the list of national intangible cultural heritage in 2011, in the category of social practices, rituals, customs, and festivals. Thailand is set to propose the annual Loy Krathong festival for inclusion in UNESCO’s intangible cultural heritage list. 

     When do people organize the Loy Krathong Festival?
Thai people celebrate Loy Krathong Festival on the full-moon night of the 12^th lunar month. This festival varies from region to region of the country. In the Central region, it is commonly held as a joyous event, with performances and a fireworks display. People usually make Krathong from banana leaves or a banana tree trunk. The Krathong contains some flowers, candles, and joss sticks. People gather on the river banks and canals. They make a wish and launch their Krathong on the water to seek pardon from the Goddess of Water for their sins in polluting waterways. 
In the Northern region, people float Krathong in order to send lanterns, flowers, candles, and joss sticks to pay homage to the Buddhist monk Upagupta, an Arahant who is believed to live underwater. In celebrating this festival, people clean their houses, decorate the Buddha shelf with flowers, and light lanterns, or candles, as offering to Buddha. They also make the “turning lantern,” called “Khom Phat” to decorate the temple, and also listen to the Mahajati preaching throughout the night. Lanterns are also released into the sky to worship the Chulamani Pagoda in heaven.

Value of Loy Krathong Festival
Loy Krathong Festivals in all regions of the country may differ in detail, but they share cultural value that reinforce the bonds of unity between families and communities and contributes to Buddhism and Thai society as a whole.
For families, Loy Krathong provides the opportunity for family members to carry out activities together. They may also show resptect in remembrance of their deceased ancestirs on this occasion.
As for communities, Loy Krathong Festival helps promote unity and affection among the people through socialization and joyous activities. It will promote local handicrafts and artisans, as well. Loy Krathong also contributes to Buddhism, as people take this opportunity to make merit, observe Buddhist precepts, and pracetice Buddhisht teachings.
Moreover, Loy Krathong Festival is also significant to society, as it encourages people to care for the envoronment. The festival creates awareness on the importance of rivers and canals.

       Where to celebrate Loy Krathong and Yee Peng
While you can find Loy Krathong celebrated throughout all of Thailand wherever there’s water, there are a few cities which do it on a larger scale namely Chiang Mai, Bangkok, and Sukhothai. Yee Peng, on the other hand, is celebrated in North Thailand primarily in Chiang Mai. If you can’t decide where in Thailand to celebrate this festival, here are the highlights of the 3 recommended places to celebrate Loy Krathong or Yi Peng.

Photo Credit : SOAS Language Centre
                     : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I60ixfb0q1U 
                     : https://ottawa.thaiembassy.org/en/content/the-general-information-about-loy-krathong-festiva?cate=5f069ee272a783584326eaf8

Other activities

---

---