Loi Krathong, Thailand

The traditional festival of Loi Krathong – also known as the ‘Festival of Lights’ and the floating lantern festival – is one of the most charming and visually stunning of all Thailand’s annual festivals, and is celebrated during the full moon of the 12^th month of the Thai lunar calendar. In 2021 it will be held on Friday, 19 November.

All around Thailand, people gather in the evening at lakes, rivers, canals, and beaches to participate in Loi Krathong and pay respect to the goddess of water. In Thai the word Loi means ‘float’ and Krathong means ‘container, boat or vessel’, and the festival entails the floating of a krathong decorated with candles and flowers onto the water. The Thais believe this is a way to rid oneself of bad luck and negative feelings, and to bring good luck and positive feelings.

Celebrated in Northern Thailand in conjunction with Loi Krathong is the Yi Peng Festival, which sees illuminated lanterns released into the night-time sky. During Loi Krathong, the magical sight of hundreds of candle-lit krathongs floating on the water is an enchanting sight to behold, as is the equally beautiful scene during Yi Peng of the lanterns rising upward. However, sky lanterns are normally banned during certain hours at night for passenger flight safety reasons.

While Loi Krathong is celebrated nationwide, some of the best places for tourists to experience the festival are Bangkok, Chiang Mai, and Sukhothai. Once the first capital of Siam and today a World Heritage Site, Sukhothai offers the chance to enjoy Loi Krathong with the backdrop of majestic ancient ruins and is said to be where the festival began some 600 years ago.

(Tourism Authority of Thailand)