I had been planning a second trip up to Chiang Mai for the
Yeepeng festival and didn’t give Loy Krathong much thought. Happenstance provided a neat experience of
its own. A co-worker who also owns a
restaurant with his Thai wife invited my friend and I to make our own krathongs. Although my first crack at making a krathong
looked like a first grader’s art project, it was still a lot of fun to be
involved in the festivities. The
krathong’s base is a slice of banana tree stalk that’s covered with
decoratively folded banana leaves. It’s
then decorated with flowers, one candle to honor Buddha with light, and three
sticks of incense for purification. For
good measure a coin is added for prosperity and a clipping of hair to symbolize
what is old and unwanted. The krathong
is released in the water as a symbolic gesture of letting go of negative
thoughts and feelings. Loy Krathong has
been celebrated for over 700 years. It
is believed to have begun as a Hindu festival that honored the Goddess of Water
thanking her for the harvest and asking her forgiveness for polluting the
waters. This festival was later adopted
by Thai Buddhists who have continued the tradition of honoring the water
spirits as well as venerating Buddha.
Whatever the individual belief or practice, the community was involved—couples
and families together at the edge of the lake releasing their krathongs. The candlelit krathongs on the dark lake full
of the intention were beautiful. An
evening I would have otherwise missed.
I made a whirlwind trip up to Chiang Mai to experience the
beauty of the northern festival of light: Yeepeng. The famous floating lanterns. Over time this Lanna celebration has evolved
into a ‘sky’ version of Loy Krathong.
The releasing of the sky lanterns was preceded by a ceremony led by
monks who prayed, chanted, and meditated in order to focus the mind on pure
thoughts and the intention of the
evening: honoring Buddha through peace and love. With my thoughts focused on peace and love, I
made my wish and released my lantern. It
is a magnificent, stunning sight to see thousands of lanterns glowing against
the night sky as they drift away to fulfill the wishes.
