The loy krathong festival dates back to the time oft the Sukhothai Kingdom,about 700 years ago. lt marked the end of the rainy season and the main rice harvest. lt is based on a Hindu tradition of thanking the water god for the waters. The farmers of Sukhothai used to hold a festival of floating candles. One year, a beautiful woman called Noppamas , who was the chief royal consort made some special lanterns for the festival. She made them from banana leaves and shaped them like lotus flowers. The king was impressed with what he saw so he announced that krathong would be floated ob the water every year from then on. Today the memory of that woman who made the first krathong is remembered in a beauty contest called The Noppamas Queen Contest.