It’s that time of the year again. Just like the Thai New Year (Songkran) and countless others throughout the Thai calendar. It is Loy Krathong festival, november is the month of which thousands of lights float on lakes, ponds and seas carrying people’s wishes and prayers away.
What is Loy Krathong?
Loy Krathong Festival, also called "the festival of light", is an annual traditional festival in Thailand.
It involves releasing floating lanterns or Krathongs on waterways throughout the country. This is one of the most popular festivals for travelers to experience in Thailand because of its spiritual significance and romantic beauty.
The Loy Krathong festival is just an important as Songkran festival in April. There are many stories to how Loy Krathong started and why. The most famous history of how Loy Krathong began, starts from people asking forgiveness from the water goddess for having used and polluted rivers or canals. As most of the population in Thailand is Buddhist, it is a believe that Thai people offer flowers, candles and incense sticks as a tribute to the footprint of Lord Buddha on the beach of the Nammatha River in India. Another story is by Loy Krathong, Thai people give appreciation to the ‘Phra Mae Kong Ka’ or Mother of Water. Lastly, Thai people wash away their misfortunes and sins.