Loy Krathong

The Loy Krathong festival is held every full moon night of November in the cool season with cloudless sky, when the full moon is supposed to be the most beautiful in the whole year.

The festival is held nationwide to honour the goddess of the river, to thank and apologise to her for the uses and abuses of the waterways by human. A symbolic boat , the krathong in the form of small bowl made of leaves or wax paper containing lighted candles, joss stick, flowers, and some coins, is set afloat in a body of water, preferrably a river. The token boat is mean to be the carrier of offerings to the river goddess. Th the same time, the boat is also supposed to bear away the owner's bad luck and misfortunes

Besides the well-known Loi Krathong Festival, there is another tradition that is based on a similar belief but is celebrated on the full moon night of the eleventh lunar month. Known as the Illuminated Boat Procession , the celebration takes place in the Northeastern provinces of Thailand that is located on the Mekong River. Illuminated boats of approximately 10 - 12 metres long are made from banana stalks or bamboo by villagers. The boats contain sweets, the so-called Khao Tom Mat - stuffed fried sticky rice - and objects to be donated inside, while decorated with flowers, incense sticks, candles, lamps and tinder outside. At present, the boats are created into various shapes such as important places or mythical creatures, which lend a bright and breathtaking sight when the boats illuminated by thousands of lamps are floated onto the river.