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Loi 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.
"Loi"
means "to float". "Krathong" is a raft
about a hand span in diameter
traditionally made from a section of
banana tree trunk (although modern-day
versions use specially made bread
'flowers' and may use Styrofoam) ,
decorated with elaborately-folded banana
leaves, flowers, candles, incense sticks
etc.
During the night of the full moon,
many people will release a small raft
like this on a river.
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
LOI KRATHONG VIDEO
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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
honor 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 a fresh 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.
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
kratongs. The Loi Kratong festival is
also associated with the start of
vegetable carving.
The Thai Tradition of
Loy Krathong
started off in Sukhothai,
but is now celebrated throughout
Thailand, with the festivities in Chiang
Mai and Ayutthaya being particularly
well known.
In
Chiang Mai Loi Krathong
is also known as
"Yi Peng". Every year thousands of
people assemble to float the banana-leaf
krathong onto the waterways of the city,
honoring the Goddess of Water. A
multitude of Lanna-style sky lanterns (khom
fai) are also 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.
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