loy krathong.

Loy Krathong is one of the biggest festivals in Thailand. They were shooting fireworks for a month prior to the day to prove it. This is a traditionally Buddhist celebration where they float these little rafts that are slightly bigger than a cd and made out of banana leaves out on the river. It happens on the night of the first full moon of the 12th month of the Thai lunar year. The rafts are floated to honor Buddha and also are used to represent letting go of grudges and anger. They'll usually put a piece of hair or a fingernail on the raft to represent letting go of the bad parts of oneself. The Thais we were with said that it all started to thank the Goddess of Water for all she provides. They also think it will bring them good luck for the coming year.

One of our ESL students invited Damaris and I to spend the evening with him and his friends for the festival. We didn't float the Kratongs b/c we have Jesus, but it was still wonderful to hang out with the Thais and observe this beautiful custom. This is the group photo we took when it was still light out. Our student is standing on the back row on the far left. This is a family putting their float on the river.


Damaris and I letting go of our Khom Loy!