Festival and Event : Loi Krathong

Beneath full November moon,waterways and houses are aglow with candlelight,fireworks explode, wishes are made, and the sins of the year are-hopefully-washed away.This is Thailand's most spectacular celebration: Loi Krathong, the"festival of lights."

Throughout the country schoolchildren have been busy for days preparing beautiful Krathongs-banana-leaf and bamboo floats - to be released in the waterways, complete with lit candles, incense,and adorned with flowers.

They have been practicing the happy"Loi Krathong" song that will,throughout the festival, be broadcast from every loudspesker and radio station.Gates and doorways are festooned with palm leaves, bamboo and colorful paper lanterns, The air is thick with excitement. In the evening hours you can already hear the firecrackers.

Loi Krathong Krung Kao and Loi Krathong at 4 Corners of the Old City (Ayutthaya)

Loi Krathong Krung Kao (Old Ayutthaya Style of Loi Krathong)
Date: 12 November, 2008
Venue: Thung Phukhao Thong Area, beside King Naraesuan the Great Memorial Statue, Ayutthaya

Highlights:
Enjoy and experience the Ayutthaya Style of Loi Krathong, feast your eyes on the cultural performances and entertainments as well as food and goods fair.

Loi Krathong at 4 Corners of the Old City (Ayutthaya)
Venue: 4 corners of Ayutthaya, i.e. under Pridi-Thamrong Bridge; Pom Petch; in front of National Museum-Chandrakasem; and in front of Chedi Si Suriyothai.

Highlights:
This is a memorable event for you to experience the contest of hanging lanterns, small-size Krathong contest, Miss Noppamas (international) beauty contest, Noppamas kids contest, singing contest, cultural performances, and OTOP products.

For further details : please contact Ayutthaya Tourist Centre Tel: 66 (0) 3524 2730-1

The northern city of Chiang Mai

That's a trip to Chiang Mai's Mae Ping River during the evening festivities is an experience all its own-but not entirely without some danger.Amidst the smoke from thousands of fireworks ignited at random (and in some cases, in random directions) along the riverbanks, visitors pick their way through the crowds, dodging small firecrackers cast at their feet by mischievous youngsters.

Cradling their krathongs (a wide variety are for sale along the riverbanks), they gather in large groups beside the great river. With a silent prayer they carefully place their floats in the water and release them to the current. They watch intently as the floats drift down stream, hoping as one that the candle will not go out, for the light it bears is said to signify longevity and the fulfillment of wishes.

Couples release their lanterns simultaneously, believing that if the floats remain together on the water then their partnership will be long and happy. Everyone prays for a calm night, for even the hint of a breeze could snuff out their dreams.

The history of the festival of lights itself dates back even earlier. The origins of Loi Krathong lie in the legend of Nang Noppamas, daughter of a learned Brahmin priest at the court of Khun Ramakamheang during the Sukhothai Dynasty some 700 years ago.

Wanting to honor Mae Kong Ka in her own fashion, and being very creative, Nang Noppamas made the first Krathong in the form of an exquisite lotus flower.The court regarded her work with such admiration that she went back to the palace and began creating many new Krathong designs.

While in most parts of Thailand Loi Krathong revolves around the act of floating small lights, in the north it has historically meant the floating away of food. Although the old stories are mostly forgotten today, Chiang Mai's festival had a different name once Lanna Thai-and a different history.

According to legend, a town in northern Thailand was once stricken by a cholera epidemic fearing for their lives, the people quit the town and fled downriver. After six years, the epidemic had run its course, and many returned home, except for the aged and infirm who could not make the trek.

So every year around November, the villagers would put money, food and clothing inside small models of floating houses and junks, light torches and candles to guide the craft in the darkness, and send them down the river towards their relatives, who had chosen not to return.

Whatever the symbolism, with the full moon glistening in all her splendor and the waterways twinkling with a million tiny lights, the sight itself is entrancing. So much so, that even amids the cacophony of fireworks and pounding music it is impossible not to feel somehow transported as you watch the hopes and dreams of an entire city drifting gently to their ultimate destination.

So this year, whether you're at the Mae Ping River or the Klong behind your own home, it's nice to think that there is still some cleansing power left in the water perhaps not so much in a literal way, but in the gentle release of past worries, of negative thinking and of old prejudices.

Loi Krathong is a time to reflect deeply on the mystery of our journey through life-perhaps we are indeed all bound for the same ocean. In any event, let's just hope it's a still and gentle night.