Celebrating festivals is a huge part of Thai culture. There are many important holidays throughout the year such as the Lunar New Year, Songkran, the King’s birthday, Children’s Day and Teacher’s Day. One of those festivals is Loy Krathong, which happens every year during the November full moon. It is a celebration of water and everything that it provides for us. During this festival, Thai people pay respect to the Goddess of Water, ask for forgiveness for polluting the waterways and worship the Lord Buddha. Let’s learn about the traditions related to this celebration!
I learned about the traditions tied to the Loy Krathong festival. The word loy means “to float,” and a krathong is a type of decorative basket. On the Loy Krathong festival day, people make their own krathongs out of banana leaves and flowers, or they buy ready-made ones at the market. They light candles and incense sticks on their floats, make a wish, and release them into a nearby river, lake, or pond. Sometimes people will put some coins into their krathongs as an offering for the Buddha. Other people like to add a fingernail clipping or a strand of hair, which is thought to draw away any bad luck from the person as the krathong drifts off into the distance.
