because the people of northeast thailand have a deep belief that fire-known in thai as"fai"possesses the power to kill devils and cast out hardship,fire figures prominently in most of the region's customs.
AMong these is the lai ruea fai festival,literally translated as the illuminated boat procession,which coincides with the fifteenth night of the waxing moon of the 11 lunar month.
There are several legends about the origins of lai ruea fai but actual truth remains a mystery.
According to an ancient buddhist legend,the festival's main objective is to pay respects to a footprint of the lord buddha found on the banks of the nammatanti river in india,where nagas the gigantic snakeshaped creatures of legend were said to live in the water. as the legend has it,the nagas invited the buddha to visit their subterranean homeland and asked him to give them a sermon. before the buddha left,they also asked him to leave an imprint of his foot in the moist soil on the bank.from then on,angels,human beings and animals all came to the holy spot to pay respects to the buddha's footprint.
Yet another ancient legend maintains that the festival was initiated to commemorate the buddha's return to earth after preaching to his mother in heaven during the three-month buddhist rains retreat.
How ever, what we do known for certain is the fact that the objective of the festival is to make merit by placing donations for poor people living along the liver in blazing boats
In ancient time,the people of nakhon phanom would join hands with monks several weeks prior to ok phansa day to build and decorate boats made of banana trees and bamboo. This not only served the purpose of reinforcing unity in the community but also encouraged people to be creative. The boat were beautifully decorated with many different shapes,including,nagas,garudas,swans and other religious emblems. Consumer goods and comestibles intended for poor people and other in need were then placed in the boats, including clothes,blankets,fruit and food.
The illuminated boat procession normally took place at night. A crowd would gather along the banks of the mekhong river to celebrate the festival. The boat would then be lit and let free to float gently down the river and out of sight. A long the way,the people in the next village along would pull the boats to the side and collect their contents.
Unfortunately, lai ruea fai was discontinued in 1975 following a political upheaval in laos, the impact of which over flowed into thailand.
However, in 1983, the provincial government of nakhon phanom revived the festival and organized a competition for the best-decorated boat so as to encourage people to take an interest in the festival again after 8 years of neglect. Happily,the festival and boat decoration competition are now held annually and it has become one of the most eagerly awaited festivals in nakhon phanom, attracting huge numbers of locals and tourists alike. Which only goes to show that, despite an 8 year full, the people of nakhon phanom, both young and old, have not forgotten the festival's importance and continue to enjoy it, not because it is their ancestors's special way of celebrating ok phansa day.