Inside Chiang Mai: Loy Krathong Festival
Loy Krathong has an unequalled charm and mystique, whether it is celebrated on a grand scale in a major city or quietly
in a small village of just a few rude huts, but for a truly breathtaking experience, the north of Thailand is the place
to go. Even from the end of Lent, the build-up starts with firecrackers banging and booming in the night and, gradually,
there appear what seem to be moving orange stars in the sky. As Loy Krathong itself nears, coconut frond archways spring
up at the gates of houses, earthen lamps glow in the night, and paper streamers and lanterns appear everywhere. The beginning of the Loy Krathong Parade
With the rainy season gone, the night sky is clear and coolness fills the air. On the night of Loy Krathong itself,
the full moon sails over the horizon into a sky filled with light and sound, for the Lanna folk celebrate Loy Krathong
in three dimensions. Giant hot air balloons, called Kome Loy, rise into the sky, their fires visible, like some galaxy
of orange stars, into the far distance. Traditional rockets known as Bok Fai outdo the myriad of other fireworks
crackling and popping everywhere in the crisp night air. And beneath this frenzy of noise and light, the gentle, quiet,
and touching act of floating (loy) one's Krathong.
The traditional months of Lanna are different from the rest in Thailand, and Loy Krathong is always celebrated in Duan Yee -
the second month - and the period of the festival is called Yee Peng. It is an important time with Krathong and a different
Buddhist ceremony, called Tang Tham Luang, falling within this month. The decorations around houses and temples come alive
during Yee Peng with the Kome paper lanterns glowing a host of bright colours. Walls surrounding compounds are decorated
with the earthen lamps called Phang Patit. The number of these lamps must correspond with the total age of all family members
combined, and their flickering yellow flames give warmth to the cool evening. Floating Krathongs in the Ping River
The Krathong are traditionally made from cut sections of bamboo, with neatly
folded pieces of banana leaf around the edge, giving the appearance of a lotus
leaf. Each must be decorated with a candle, an incense stick, and some flowers,
though
many are more elaborate. Often some grains of sand and good luck charms are placed
on the Krathong, and a few coins are often added; though these usually end
up as some young boy's extra pocket money. At home in the water, they swim
from Krathong
to Krathong and a little brown hand gropes around for what it may contain. These
days the convenience and buoyancy of Styrofoam have largely and, unfortunately,
replaced traditional materials, as they litter bank and shoreline for weeks
after the event.
This year, 2007, the Loy Krathong festival is from November 22 to 25. In Chiangmai,
there are raft races on the river on the first day, and boat races for the
next two days. The Yee Peng opening ceremony takes place at Tha Pae Gate early
on the first
evening, followed by a lantern parade and contest at the Night Bazaar. Beauty
contests will be held at Tha Pae Gate on the second and last evenings, and
parades of individual Krathongs and giant Krathongs start from there on the
second and third
evenings. Every night, there will be fireworks, Kome Loy launchings, Lanna cultural
performances at the Municipal Offices near the river, and, of course, there
is nowhere better to loy your own Krathong. Here is a video taken along the
Ping River and the neighborhood of the festival.
Tradition has it that the very first Krathong was made by a beautiful young lady at the royal court of the ancient Kingdom of
Sukhothai some 700 years ago. Her name was Naang Noppamart, and she was blessed with great artistic skills. Others imitated
her and there was a competition on the night of the 11th full moon of the year. The king judged the competition. Naang
Noppamart's talents were repaid as her Krathong was declared the clear winner. The king decreed that henceforth this one
night of the year should become a festival of thanks and should be celebrated by the floating of boats in the shape and
form of lotus leaves. The legend lives on and the beauty queen selected at each of the Loy Krathong celebrations around
Thailand is, to this day, the winner of the Naang Noppamart parade. Launching thousands of Khom Loy all at the same time. The Kome Loy is a lantern that is similar to a hot-air-balloon. It is
also quite similar to that of a normal lantern except it does not
require 24 candles for illumination. Because the air lantern must rise
up to float in the air, it must be lightweight; therefore, it does not
have a bamboo cylinder inside. In order to send the lantern into the
air, it requires a method to heat the air. This is done by tying a
small bowl underneath the open section of the lantern. Oil is then
placed into the bowl along with a cotton cloth. As the oil catches fire
and commences burning, the hot air quickly travels into the lantern and
it soon rises into the air. Click here
To see a video of thousands of Kome Loy being launched at the same time.
It is believed that by sending off these lanterns an individual can
send one's sins and bad luck into the air. Usually before the lantern
soars into the sky, an individual will pray that one's sin or bad luck
will be transported on the lantern and floated away high into the sky.
Sometimes an address is left inside. The purpose of this is when the
lantern come back down to the ground, and individual can follow an
address and seek for money from whoever wrote the address. Or even
sometimes, the maker will put some money inside the lantern. The
purpose of the hot air lantern is to worship and pay respect to the
Phra Ged Kaew Ju La Manee. An old legend tells that during war, these
lanterns were sent into enemy territory and exploded. In Chiang Mai, visitors will be treated to an air of festivity in the
weeks leading up to Loy Krathong.
Archways of banana stems and plam branches suddenly appear outside homes and businesses,
and hanging lanterns, or Kome, are hung anywhere possible. With their
beautiful colors and delicate paper streamers, these lanterns glow with
a warm charm in the night, along with yellow flames of thousands of
miniature terra-cotta nightlights flickering on walls and gateposts in
the city.
While Kome are put up all over the city, hot-air balloons, or Kome Loy,
are set off into the sky during the festivities. Be careful: there are
also fireworks, and the locals often set off their own with no rhyme or
reason. And there's a lot of drinking.
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