Loy Kratong Ceremony In Thailand
Loy Kratong is one of the most beautiful festivals in Thailand. Loy festival is also known as the Festival of Lights and is celebrated on a full moon night of twelfth lunar month each year; that is around in the month of November. The meaning of the word Loy is to float. Kratong is a float shaped like a lotus which is capable of floating on the water.
On this day people go to nearby canals and rivers to set their Kratongs afloat on the water. A Kratong is usually made from banana leaves or a layer of the bark of the banana tree trunk. People decorate the Kratong with food offerings, betel nuts, flowers, candles and coins. During the ritual, just before the Kratong is set afloat, people light the candles in the Kratong make a wish before setting it onto the water. It is a belief that whatever is wished for during the Kratong festival will come true.
The Loy Kratong is a festival started by a young princess named Nang Noppamas. There are different stories associated with the origin of this festival. According to some stories this is a festival through which people express their gratitude to the goddess of water for letting them use the water for their needs. Loy Kratong festival is type of Thanksgiving where people thank the goddess of water for giving them this precious natural resource. However, other stories say that this festival is celebrated to worship a Hindu god named Vishnu, who lived in the ocean.
Whatever may be the origin of the Loy Kratong festival, it is celebrated with lots of reverence and joy amongst the people of Thailand and is very much a part of the Thai culture.
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