Photo Diary: The Thai Festival of Loy Krathong in Bangkok

Today is the Thai festival of Loy Krathong. It is an ancient ritual of paying respect to the water spirits and washing away sins of the year gone by and asking for blessings for the coming year.

This year I celebrated with Kiaan at Benchasiri Park on Sukhumvit Road, located right next to Emporium. We went a bit earlier in the evening around 5pm to beat the huge crowds; it usually gets very busy from 6pm onwards.

Loy Krathong literally means “to float a basket”; the krathong or “basket” is beautifully and symbolically decorated before it is floated as an offering to the water spirits. It is made out of a banana tree trunk which is decorated with intricately-folded banana leaves, bright flowers such as marigold and orchids, three incense sticks, a candle and sometimes coins as an offering. These components are all symbolic in Buddhism. The candle is a sign of knowledge, the incense sticks signify purity and the flowers represents monks who are the students of lord Buddha.

Krathongs are often personalised because they are also seen as a way of ridding oneself of sins and bad vibes; sometimes people will add strands of hair or nail clippings along with their coin offerings with the hope that negativity floats away and positive vibes are received instead. In recent years, krathongs have become super creative and interesting!

To celebrate the festival, locals will flock to the nearest water body on the evening of Loy Krathong, kneel by the water’s edge, light the candle and incense, ask for forgiveness and blessings from the water spirits before floating (or “loy”) their krathongs. Krathongs are usually available for purchase in abundance outside parks with lakes and in markets by the riverside.

Loy Krathong is determined by the lunar calendar so the date changes annually and always falls on a full moon night. It’s a mesmerising sight to see the warm glow of candles reflected in the water and on the faces of those celebrating.