Celebrants encouraged to use only natural materials for krathongs
The most romantic night
on the Thai calendar, Loy Krathong, is this Sunday, November 17. The
festivities will be held throughout the city at hotels and anywhere
there is water, whilst the city organized fun will take place in Naklua
and at Bali Hai pier. So, take your significant other by the hand, buy
or build a biodegradable krathong, head to a body of water and float
away your troubles. (Photo courtesy of the Dusit Thani Pattaya)
This year’s Loy Krathong Festival in Pattaya, the
most romantic night on the Thai calendar, falls on Sunday, November 17.
The entire Kingdom will be celebrating, with most everyone going to the
water’s edge to loy (float) their krathong. Locally the city organized
festivities will be centered at Bali Hai in South Pattaya from 4 p.m.
until midnight.
Organizers are requesting people wishing to float a krathong to use only
those made from all natural material that will easily biodegrade.
Actors portraying Nang
Noppamas and her lover float their krathong on this most romantic day.
(Photo courtesy Nong Nooch Tropical Garden)
Since it is such a revered holiday, expect the large
influx of people currently flowing into the resort to get even bigger.
This will most likely cause more than a few traffic jams, so please plan
ahead should you choose to drive anywhere during the holiday period.
A bit of history
According to the history written by King Mongkut in 1863, the
Loy Krathong festival has its roots in ancient Brahmin culture, going
back some 700 years. The spirits of the river were given offerings which
were sailed in the river in small boats (krathongs) and in this way the
owner of the krathong would gain absolution. This was a Brahmin belief.
The small boats fashioned by the beautiful and talented Nang Noppamas,
the daughter of a Brahmin priest and wife of King Phra Ruang, were
notable for their construction and beauty. It was this king who then
dedicated the krathong to the memory of the Buddha, and decreed that the
event would be called Loy Krathong and that it should become an annual
celebration to commemorate the skill and beauty of his consort. In this
way he lifted it out of Brahmin culture and installed it into the
accepted Buddhist way of life. This is the reason that the krathongs now
carry three incense sticks representing the Buddha, the Dharma and the
Sangha.
During the Loy Krathong Festival, people decorate their krathong with
flowers, joss sticks and candles which will then sail away, taking with
them bad health, bad luck and unhappiness.
Lanterns are well-known symbols in the Loy Krathong Festival, too, being
used to decorate houses and temples in worship of the guardian spirits.
There are four kinds of lantern used in the festival: the hand-held
rabbit lantern, the hot air balloon lantern (kom loy), the hanging
lantern for religious worship, and the spin lantern installed at the
temples. The belief in lanterns is that the lights inside compare with
the wisdom the people will gain in the next life.
This Sunday, invite your girlfriend, boyfriend, family members and/or
significant other to buy or create a krathong, then visit the nearest
seashore, lake or river and float away your worries.
