Loy Krathong Festival

Mister and I were searching for a weekend activity and discovered that the Buddhist Temple is doing a Loy Krathong event today.  Another name for this is the Festival of Lights.  The word Loy means to float and a krathong is a floating object for that holiday.  As we arrive, tables are covered with krathongs made from crepe paper, resembling a lotus flower, and each containing a single candle and some incense sticks.  It is late afternoon and as we walk up, the parade is in full swing.   We locate a spot off to the side and watch as it goes by.  I LOVE the clothing and and money trees.  What a great opening.

Everyone now moves towards the outdoor pagoda/gazebo type structure.  The monks are there and they have a solemn prayer ritual before continuing the festival.

When the prayer ends, the krathongs begin to be purchased.  It is believe that by releasing these onto the water that you are sending the bad things in your life away and allowing for new wishes to be granted.  I watch for quite some time as the large temple krathong is set to float.


This monk truly holds my heart and I just want to hug him always.  There are koi in the water as well and he is trying to anchor his krathong with the brick so that it doesn't trap the smaller ones along the side or ends of the pond.



Each family takes their krathong and goes together to the edge of the pond while the monks look on.  All members of the family have their hands on the krathong and they release it together.  This festival takes place on the even of the 12th lunar month of the year and is beloved by children all over Thailand.

Live music is the entertainment during this time period and the atmosphere is quite jubilant.

We take a walk around the grounds and see some large "krathongs" as decor.  After grabbing a quick bite to eat (Mister is happy to have Thai food no matter where it is and here is kinda special) we notice that the sun is starting to set and the light on the temple is dang pretty.  I don't think we have photographed this side of the temple before.  We are standing right near the food and children's art booths.

As I wish to watch the releases a bit longer, we return to the pond area and settle in.  Here are the last few pictures of this time for you to enjoy.

Isn't this just lovely?  I do enjoy coming here although I always have to do a ton of research to find out exactly what has gone one since everything is in Thai.  Ah --- it's good for me.  Note:  In the coastal areas of Thailand, these are released into the natural water areas, not ponds like this.  However, here in Dallas, we are pretty dang land locked.  This works.