Loy Krathong - what is it? ~ LB-69

I was sent this as an email from an organisation here in Thailand and thought it explained the festival well.

November 12 this year is the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month and is your evening to celebrate Loy Krathong and thank Nang Noppamas, the consort of the King of Sukhothai.

700 years ago, give or take a decade or three, a young woman called Nang Noppamas, the daughter of a Brahmin priest, made a tastefully decorated small boat to pay homage to Mae Nam, the goddess of rivers and waterways. This was a Brahmin celebration, but the king incorporated some Buddhist concepts to suit the local customs and religion and the forerunner of today’s Loy Krathong festival was born.

We celebrate Loy Krathong as a family, with my wife making our krathong, with the help of the children. Thai people have a wonderful sense of decoration, and each year the krathong is a work of art made from banana leaves and flowers from our garden.

Inside the krathong are three incense sticks representing the Buddha, the Dharma and the Sangha, plus an orange candle, some nail clippings and few locks of hair (in my case - a few hairs, there are no locks left), plus a few coins.

All the women in the household get dressed up, in memory of the beautiful Nong Noppamas, as does almost every woman in Pattaya. The traditional costume hirers make a bundle that day, as do the hairdressers and beauticians.

That evening, we make for Jomtien Beach and select a relatively quiet spot, with around 3967 other celebrants, as we wade out and set our krathong on a course for the Bahamas, taking away all our troubles and woes (plus aforementioned candle, joss sticks, coins and organic bits).

Just past the first line of breakers and just visible in the dark, some helpful young Thai boys realign the krathong with the North Pole Star and the Gulf Stream, whilst emptying the craft of any coins of the realm. A cheap price for such navigation skills.

Finally we retire to the deckchairs, purchase a Khom Loy for the children and I share a bottle of beer with my wife. It should be a time of contentment, unfortunately too often shattered by screams of pain resulting from fireworks and rockets.

Then you should see the state of the beach next morning at low tide :(

However, a magical night LOL

Nice 1 Rossco Very Happy

Very eloquent & knowledgeably worded my dear chap Very Happy

I just float my Krathong ... for 500baht! And another wickerware basket goes adrift as Pentire suggusts to be washed ashore next day!

Accompanied with the 1000baht dress hire & 200 baht salon fee.

All in all ... Both sandals full of sand LOL

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This year i'm giving the money to one of my "Ezy Girlz" for the best dressed "Ezy Girl" in full costume to put a "smile" on a members face .... Ye haa Shock

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Gonna be a good night at "Ezy" those dresses are tight Wink

Just like unwrapping a spring roll LOL

It seems to have become a another ruse for extracting money. To hire the dress for 1000 baht seemed high (for Thailand - not many Thais can afford that).

I like your idea of unwrapping the Spring Roll - more concerned with what will spring out of the roll!

Hope to see you on the 12th.