KRATHONG – FLOATING LIGHTS
The krathong is a small floating offering about 20 centimeters in diameter. Traditionally this is made from the leaves and wood of the banana tree. The raft is decorated with flowers, a candle and an incense stick. People often leave a small coin in the krathong, and occasionally they will leave a lock of the hair or even nail clippings. On the night of the full moon people will light the candle and the joss stick, and float their krathong down the river.
As with the Khom Loy, this is a way that bad fortune can be discarded and made to float away. Thousands of these will float down the river making for a beautiful and moving spectacle. Usually, at the same time, thousands of Khom Loy will be drifting across the sky, so that the night sky mirrors the spectacle on the water. Almost constant firework displays, and the splashes of small boys diving in to collect the coins in the krathongs, complete the picture, and make for an unforgettable experience.
Lanna or Chiang Mai came to adopt the Central Thai Loy Kratong festival only when the Queen Dara Rasami (Lanna woman) of King Rama V came back to Chiang Mai from Bangkok and floated a krathong into the Ping River. Since then, floating of krathong became popular among people in Chiang Mai and later was made even more popular by the Chiang Mai governor to promote tourism. Since then the beauty contest and Kratong Parade have replaced the original spirit of Yee Peng.