The Loi Krathong Festival is an annual cultural and traditional celebration in Thailand held on the full moon night of the 12th month in the Thai lunar calendar. In the Gregorian calendar, the annual event typically falls between mid and late November.
The main highlight of the festival is marked by the processional floating of thousands of illuminated, decorated baskets onto rivers, canals, and lakes. The name of the celebration comes from the word loi, which means to float, and krathong, which refers to a decorative basket made from banana leaves.
Etymologically, the word krathong is closely related to the term kantong in Malay or kantoun in Khmer, both of which mean a leaf wrapper or container.
The heart of the Loi Krathong celebrations takes place in major Thai cities, such as Bangkok along the Chao Phraya River, as well as the historical city of Sukhothai. In Chiang Mai, the festivities extend over three consecutive days.
The Series of Festivities and the Anatomy of the Offering
The festival's activities begin at sunset as participants gather along the water's edge. In addition to floating personal baskets, the festive atmosphere features a parade of giant krathong floats crafted by government agencies and local businesses.
Throughout the festival, the event is further enlivened by fireworks displays and beauty pageants to select the Queen Nang Nopphamat.
Traditionally, a krathong is made from a circular slice of a banana tree trunk neatly wrapped in folded fresh banana leaves. The top is decorated with arrangements of fresh flowers such as marigolds and jasmine, then anchored with three incense sticks and a single candle.
The use of three incense sticks symbolizes homage to the Three Jewels (Tiratana) in Buddhism, while the candle serves as a symbol of guiding light in life.
Inside the basket, the participants place fingernail clippings, strands of hair, or small coins. The clippings and hair represent the release of bad luck and illness from the body, while the coins are placed as an offering for prosperity.
Honoring the Water Goddess Across History
The primary purpose of celebrating Loi Krathong is to express gratitude to Phra Mae Khongkha, the goddess of water. Participants offer thanks for the use of water in daily life while asking for forgiveness for polluting the rivers through everyday activities.
The roots of floating water offerings originate from Hindu-Brahmin rituals that spread across Southeast Asia during the eras of the Dvaravati Kingdom and the Khmer Empire.
The oldest recorded evidence of the practice appears on the 12th-century reliefs of Bayon Temple in Cambodia. The stone carvings depict a queen and concubines of the Khmer Empire floating decorated baskets along a riverbank.
Thai society often attributes the origins of the tradition to Princess Nang Nopphamat of the 13th-century Sukhothai Kingdom. However, historical records show that the literary account was actually written in the 19th century during the reign of King Rama III to adopt Khmer-influenced court rituals into a distinctly Thai heritage.
Before World War II, the celebration of Loi Krathong remained largely confined to the elite circles of Bangkok. The Thai government popularized it into a national festival starting in the 1960s through tourism promotion, popular songs, and cultural campaigns.
In the late 20th century, the use of synthetic materials such as styrofoam dominated krathong making due to its convenience. The practice quickly led to environmental issues, resulting in hundreds of tons of trash clogging riverways.
In response to the pollution, municipal authorities in Thailand began banning the use of styrofoam in the early 2000s. Participants were encouraged to return to natural banana leaf materials or switch to containers made from bread. Bread-based baskets became a popular alternative because they dissolve in water and are consumed by river fish.
