Loy Kratong 2007

2007-11-27T20:56:00.001+07:00

Loy Kratong has come and gone.. Here's what we did...

We Made our Kratong

and we Floated our Kratong...

Loy Krathong is coming!

2007-11-22T21:08:00.000+07:00

Yes, Saturday is Loy Krathong. Be ready for the 24th November!

Loy Krathong 2006

2006-10-07T08:47:00.000+07:00

The Krathong is a little boat made from banana stem decorated with flowers, candles, coins, incense and so on. Not sure if everyone does it but we also add a snip of hair and fingernails to the Krathong before setting it adrift. The word Loy means "Float".

The krathongs are for the Mother of the Water asking forgiveness for using and polluting the water, they also are said to send away all bad luck and illness from the previous year. Some people think that if the candle on the krathong keeps burning until the krathong is out of sight, your wishes will come true.

Loy Kratong started in Sukhothai, but is now celebrated all over Thailand, with Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya being famous.

Here in Phuket (where I live) you can find people celebrating wherever there is water - and being an island there's plenty of it! We normally go to the Bang Wad Reservoir - Phuket's largest fresh water supply where there is always some celebrations, music, food stalls etc..

This year Loy Krathong was November 5th, though the date changes each year to coincide with full moon. The date for Loy Krathong next year is November 24th 2007.

There is even a Loy Krathong song, which my daughter has learned at school. Last year all the kids dressed in "traditional" clothes and made Krathongs at school.

Here's the song:
www.learningthai.com/songs/loykrathong.htm

Here's my little report and photos from Loy Krathong 2006:
Loy Krathong in Phuket 2006

Some Loy Krathong Links:

www.thailandlife.com/loykrathong.html
www.thaistudents.com/festivals/krathong.html