Celebrating Loy Krathong in Thailand

Since I am living in Thailand this year, I did not get to celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday. Luckily for me, I got the chance to celebrate Loy Krathong the day before, which was more magical than any Thanksgiving I have ever experienced. Keep reading to learn what this beautiful Thai holiday is all about!

What is Loy Krathong?

Loy Krathong is celebrated on the night of the twelfth lunar month during a full moon (usually in November). The name translates roughly to ‘float a basket' and involves floating your krathong into body of water in order to pay respects to the goddess of water. The farmers use this festival to thank the goddess for an abundant year and apologize for polluting the waters. Others celebrate the holiday as a way to start fresh after removing all of the negative things in your life and watching them float away on krathong, or into the sky with a lantern.

A Krathong

Before the evening of Loy Krathong, students and teachers all make their own personal krathong. These are made using banana leaves, which are folded into different shapes and pinned to a base. They can get quite intricate; I was impressed by some of the krathongs my students made. Once you cover your base, you can add flowers as decoration. Each krathong must also include one candle and three joss sticks (incense).

Before floating your krathong during the celebration, you can add a small clipping of your hair and a fingernail to help remove the dark side of yourself and get rid of the negative things in your life. Coins can also be added as an offering to the river spirits.

The Celebration

Once the sun sets, the celebration begins. Since the krathongs must be floated in order to pay respects to the goddess of water, these celebrations take place around a body of water. Traditionally, krathongs were released into klongs, small canals, but today any pond or lake will do. When you arrive, you light the candle on your krathong, say a little prayer, and let it go into the water. It is said that if your candle stays lit until it is out of sight, you will have a year of good luck. It is magical seeing all of the krathongs floating together with the candles shining in the night.

Also part of the Loy Krathong celebrations are beauty pageants or talent shows. At the event in Songkhla, many of my students took part in this portion of Loy Krathong. They all dressed up in elaborate costumes, got their hair and makeup done, and then danced in front of the large audience that had gathered. The MCs were two teachers from my school, and some of the teachers even performed and sang with the students. It was a lot of fun to see the kids outside of the classroom having fun. In many Loy Krathong celebrations, a beauty pageant or show will be held in honor of the holiday.

Student get their make up done in preparation for the show!

A few dancers and their supportive classmates

Another magical portion of Loy Krathong is lighting a lantern and letting your misfortunes float away with the wind. Lanterns are available for purchase at the event at various stalls that are set up. Once you buy it, you go into an open area, attach the fuel to the lantern base, light it and watch it fill up with hot air. Before letting go, it is customary to make a wish and then let go and watch it float away into the night sky. This was one of my favorite parts of Loy Krathong. Make sure to be in an open area though! Some people near us at the event got their lantern stuck in a tree unfortunately.

In addition to floating a krathong, watching the show, and lighting a lantern, you can of course also eat! There were many food stalls set up selling not only food but also krathongs for those who did not have a chance to make their own. These usually cost between 30 and 50 baht depending on how intricate they were. This event on the full moon in November is not to be missed if you are visiting Thailand during that time, or living and teaching here!