Loy Krathong Festival, Chiang Mai; Few Words Needed

Firecrackers blaze and thunder until dawn. The atmosphere is one of pure joy and happiness.

The Yi Peng Festival is set on the day of the full moon, each November. Traditionally Loy Krathong involved paying homage to the holy footprint of the Buddha on the beach of the Namada River in India. Folklore explanations range from the pacifying of the serpent god, Phaya Nak, via rituals to halt the monsoon rains, to the paying of respect to the water spirits.

Krathong rafts are floated down the Ping river in their thousands; made of banana leaves and stems, decorated with candles and flowers, bearing incense and occasionally small coins, the belief is that as the raft slowly drifts away, so too will the year’s bad luck (so it’s not a good sign if it gets caught in an eddy and floats back in your direction!). Couples will place two rafts in the water at the same time and it’s a particularly auspicious sign if they stay close together as they disappear from sight.

Then there are the khom loy lanterns – filled with hot air and smoke from their fiercely burning candles, they are released into the air both during the day and night. During daylight hours, multi-coloured khom loy can easily be seen against the blue skies, Myriads of white, transparent lanterns twinkle brilliantly once the sun has set, extinguishing the light from all but the brightest stars and the full moon itself.

A parade of floats make their way slowly through Chiang Mai towards the Ping River, traditionally dressed Thais dance and sing through streets crowded with onlookers…

“November full moon shining
Loy kratong Loy kratong,
And the water's high in the river and the klong,
Loy loy kratong, loy loy kratong,
Loy Kratong is here and everyone is full of cheer
We're together at the Klong, each one with their krathong
As we push away we pray, we can see a better day.”

But the pictures tell a much better story! …