Loy Krathong

This event is about getting together with your chosen one and float or launch (loy) a decoration (krathong) to symbolize your life and future together.

This Thai festival is a major revenue earner and the local equivalent of Valentine's Day. There is a very nice story behind the tradition, which is promoted by authorities .... in short, that this tradition was started by a favorite consort of a Sukhothai king.

One weakness about this story is that she (Nopphamat) has never been proven to exist. Another weakness is that a very similar festival is also celebrated in Laos and in Shan State.

And texts written in Bangkok 150 years ago indicate that the tradition originated from a Brahmanical festival, which was modified when Buddhism conquered Southeast Asia. According to those texts, the candle venerates the Buddha, while launching the krathong's symbolizes letting go of one's anger and defilement.

The traditional krathong  was made from a slice of the trunk of a banana tree. Modern krathongs are of styrofoam. Styrofoam is not biodegradable so while the loy krathong festival is romantic, it is an environmental disaster.

In the past, this was a festival mostly celebrated in the provinces where it - like many other festivals - was an occasion for the village community to get together. Still today, some villages arrange that people work together to construct large krathongs that are then launched in a lake or river at night.