Thailand’s water culture inspires one of the country’s most popular and picturesque festivals, Loi Krathong. Found nationwide, it is best exemplified in the major celebrations in Bangkok, the capital, and Sukhothai, an ancient former capital. And wistfully make a wish. Many travel to see the distinctive regional celebrations. Lanterns in the North float in the sky instead, with flame-powered Khome Loi paper balloons lofting upwards most dramatically around Chiang Mai in the North. Upon the full moon of the twelfth lunar month each November, millions of Thais light the waterways with ornate floats or spangle the skies with fireworks and paper lanterns. Curves of banana stem ‘bark’ are used to form the simpler Krathong Sai Kaab Kluay of Samut Songkram. This well-preserved ancient tradition differs around the kingdom. The generic krathong (leaf vessel) that people loi (float) is a raft of banana stem adorned with leaves, flowers, incense and candle. People in Tak province make Krathong Sai using multiple coconut shells strung together.

1. Visit an Island
2. Pha Mak Duk
3. Phra Nang Cave Beach, Krabi
4. Tham So Nuea Waterfall
5. Travel by Tuk-Tuk
6. Khao Sok National Park
7. Ko Samet

The festival’s roots are ancient, but the Loi Krathong we see today became popularised from palace rituals of the early Rattanakosin era to venerate the water goddess, Mae Khongkha. It is not by coincidence that Loi Krathong occurs at one of the year’s highest tides. The festival materials reflect a bygone village lifestyle. What is a Krathong? Some take the form of a sacred swan. A krathong raft uses a buoyant disc of soft banana tree trunk ringed by banana leaves folded into auspicious traditional Thai patterns known as Lai Thai. Water was vital to livelihoods from fisheries, floating markets and rice fields. Two centuries ago, most Thais lived on rafts or in waterside stilt houses. The standard shape resembles the open petals of a lotus in bloom. Other rafts peak in the middle to evoke chedis (stupas) or the mythic Mount Meru. Each krathong contains the Buddhist offerings of flowers, at least one incense stick and a candle, the flame and glowing ash fading as the vessel bobs downstream.

Contemporary taste and materials have influenced krathong design. The increasing quantity of krathong each year begs the question why Thais create them in the first place. Traditional vessels are biodegradable, but that still takes time. The festival is a chance for communal sanuk – the Thai sense of fun. Natural dyes add to the floral palette. An ecologically-sensitive krathong can now be made from bread or vegetable matter which fish can eat. They are an offering not just of thanks for life-giving water, but an apology for polluting or carelessly misusing the pristine gift of the Mother of Waters. A fad for polystyrene bases has given way to greater awareness of their adverse environmental impact. Thais flock to the waterways in gleeful, larking groups. Municipal workers collect all the spent krathong they can, while some Thais minimise their impact by sharing with friends or family. Creativity with petals. Leaves turn floats into works of art.

Couples often launch one jointly as a romantic gesture of togetherness. Those seeking better luck place something of their own – a hair, a coin, a nail clipping – into the raft, vacations in Mae Fa Luang – see this here – because the act feels like casting away one’s grief or ill-fortune. Other authorities speculate that it may derive from an act of remission to India’s sacred River Ganges. An ancient Thai tale holds that the krathong was invented in the early Siamese kingdom of Sukhothai by the maiden Tao Sri Chulalak, commonly called Nang Noppamas. How the festival began remains unclear, but various accounts point to an Indian origin. Buddhist explanations of Loi Krathong suggest a rite to honour the disciple Phra Uppakhut, or to pay respect to the Lord Buddha’s footprint beside the mythical Narmada River. The closest parallel is with Deepavalee, a festival of lights also held in November, in which Hindu devotees float tiny lanterns to honour the gods Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu. People bow down with the krathong raised to their forehead, pray in thanks, then set the craft adrift.

Resorts Near Pattaya

Beauty contests held around the festival crown the winner as Nang Noppamas, who typically then leads a festival parade in Siamese costume. Thais beg her forgiveness for carelessly polluting the pristine water that sustains all life. Given their traditional river-based lifestyle and culture, Thais expressed gratitude to Mae Khongkha, the Mother of Waters, their equivalent to the Hindu goddess of water. Offerings to her evolved into the Loi Krathong ritual of thanks, and also of appeasement. Loi Krathong is not a public holiday, but it’s marked on every calendar. Festive decorations fill shops, hotels and public spaces, which resound to retro recordings of the familiar old Loi Krathong song. Planes, trains, boats and roads all become packed with revellers travelling to the nearest pier or to the showpiece events. Sukhothai becomes the focus of national celebrations. No visitor could miss it, since almost every Thai takes part. Over time the festival spread throughout the country.