Sunday, November 16, 2008

Loi Krathong

Time for a little levity! We happened to be here during one of the most beautiful Thai festivals. Actually, in Chiang Mai, there are two festivals that overlap. Loi Krathong is celebrated throughout the country, and Yi Peng is an overlapping "Lanna" festival. Lanna being the ancient kingdom that was established in this region, which was not really absorbed into larger Thai politics until this century. A krathong is a lantern, and here they have two different types -- the air lantern and the water lantern. Both are offerings -- when you release the lanterns on either the water or into the air, you are supposed to also release and offer any of the negative things in your life or personal approach. For the water offerings, the goddess of water -- specifically the goddess of the main river in Chiang Mai, the Peng/Ping, will accept your offering and grant your requests. Hmmm, seemed like a good time to offer up dengue and typhoid, which surely are ruled by the water goddess!

The Peng River runs North-South, just a bit beyond the Lanna Hospital where K was ensconsed, so on the night of the full moon (the official height of the festival), Rozie just passed by the hospital and continued on to where the hospital road U-turns at the river, with the "superhighway" continuing overhead via a bridge. Earlier, she'd noticed people setting up tables to sell home-made krathong for 30-50 baht (about 10 cents), although most people theoretically make their own. Now that it was dark, the little road was packed with people and cars, and moter bikes, with people climbing down the river bank to a little bamboo pier under the concrete bridge.

Although she was on her own, representing the sick trio, no less than three Thai helped Rozie light the candle and three incense sticks that are a standard part of the krathong. One even held all R's worldly possessions and took pictures while she said a prayer and set sail to the little krathong, joining it to the crowd of little flowered lights floating down the river.

Perhaps even more spectacular though, are the floating air lanterns which fill the sky every night during the festival. Our little camera just couldn't do the site justice, so here's a UTube video.

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posted by berkledog @ 1:51 AM   1 comments

1 Comments:

At 11:13 PM, Blogger Bonnie said...

I hope your wishes come true!

 

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