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Romantic Loy Krathong this coming Wednesday
Celebrants encouraged to use only natural materials for krathongs
This year’s Loy Krathong Festival in Pattaya, the most
romantic night on the Thai calendar, falls on Wednesday, November 28.
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.
Scheduled events include a young Miss Noppamas contest, along with stage
shows and concerts, including Thai rock band Zeal.
Organizers are requesting people wishing to float a krathong to use only
those made from all natural material that will easily biodegrade.
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 Wednesday, 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.
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