Loy Krathong Festival in Thailand (Part 1):: A Beautiful Festival of Wishes with 700 Years of History :: Chiang Mai

This wasn’t the first time I was moved to tears during a trip.
As night fell, while releasing krathongs and lanterns with locals in Chiang Mai, I turned around and saw Thai strangers beside me who didn’t speak my language but conveyed blessings through smiles and gestures. Each one was so wholeheartedly devout, with gratitude and prayers being the only thoughts in their minds at that moment.

I looked around and saw locals and foreign tourists from all over. Though their wishes varied, in the end, they all boiled down to something as simple as peace and happiness. It was this act of minimizing oneself, praying with the humblest of hearts for a simple wish, that moved me deeply from the bottom of my heart.



 

Loy Krathong is Thailand’s most beautiful festival, with origins tracing back over 700 years to the Sukhothai Kingdom. At that time, the king of the Sukhothai Kingdom would preside over a ceremony to worship the river spirit on the full moon night of the 12th lunar month each year. This season was when Thailand’s rainy season had just ended and river water levels were high. Floods often affected low-lying areas in Thailand, so the king would choose the brightest full moon night to hold the ceremony, expressing reverence and gratitude to the river spirit. On one hand, it was to thank the river spirit for its care throughout the year, and on the other, to pray for protection from floods, as well as for a bountiful and harmonious harvest in the coming year.
 

The Sukhothai Historical Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is one of the most important locations for Loy Krathong celebrations. As evening falls and night descends, crowds begin to gather.

Loy Krathong spread throughout Thailand and gained a romantic atmosphere thanks to a queen. Legend has it that the third king’s consort, with her skillful hands and creative mind, crafted lotus-shaped bases for the krathongs using local flowers and banana leaves, and decorated them with carvings of flowers and birds made from sugarcane and fruits for the king to offer to the water deity. The king, delighted by the exquisitely beautiful krathongs, decreed that the 12th lunar month’s full moon night be designated as Loy Krathong Day. Since then, the tradition of releasing krathongs has flourished across Thailand.