THAILAND 🇹🇭 | Loy Krathong Festival

ลอยกระทง 📷 Credit: Anna Sueangam-iam #MissUniverseThailand
Models:
1. Anna Sueangam-iam: Miss Universe Thailand 2022
2. Kim Thitisan Goodburn: Mister International 2023

🌷 "Loy Krathong Festival" is another Thai tradition that has been handed down since the Sukhothai period.
As evidenced by the first stone inscription in the Sukhothai period.
✦ "Loy Kratong Day" in the evidence from the first stone inscription, "candle burning, playing with fire" is mentioned as the largest festival of Sukhothai. It is believed that such an event should be the Loy Krathong event in which the Thai people in the past used the lotus flower as a Krathong, it is the main concubine of King Phra Maha Thammaracha Lithai or King Phra Ruang of Sukhothai (King Maha Thammaracha I).

Mentioned the full moon of the twelfth lunar month it was the time when he visited the river. According to the ceremony at night and has ordered the concubines and ladies decorated with flowers, incense, and candles, bring it to float in front of the throne.
✦ At that time, Thao Sri Chulalaksa the first concubine, invented a lotus flower-shaped Krathong seeing that it was a special lotus flower that blooms at night only once a year should be made into a Krathong decorated with lanterns, floating to pay homage to the Buddha's footprint which, when King Phra Ruang Chao saw it, asked him about the meaning. She explained to the satisfaction of King Phra Ruang Chao's heart. Phra Ruang Chao therefore said, “From now on King in Siam country, when it's time for public holidays, on the full moon day of the 12th lunar month, float lotus-shaped lanterns, dedicated to worship the Buddha's footprint as long as eternity.” For this reason, we see lotus-shaped floating lanterns appearing until now.

✦ The origin legend of "Loy Krathong Day" comes from Buddhism: it is said that before the Buddha attained enlightenment he was the Buddha was seated under the bodhi tree, near Neranjara River. One day, Suchada (laywoman / female devotees) gave her maid to bring Madhupayas rice, (Stirred rice cooked with honey or sugar cane juice) put in a golden tray to offer. When he had finished eating set up a prayer that if one day he would succeed as a Buddha I asked the tray to float upstream with the force of prayer and power of merit, the tray floated upstream until the navel of the sea, and then it sank into the tail of Naga (King of Nagas), the deep healer. Naga (King of Nagas) awoke, and when he saw it, he announced that now another Buddha had appeared in the world, the angels and all Nagas, went to meet the Buddha, and Naga (King of Nagas) asked the Buddha to place his footprints on the banks of the Neranjara River. So that they could come up and offer their sacrifices. As for the maid, she brought the matter to Suchada, when that day of every year Suchada would bring incense and flowers in a tray to float on the water to worship the Buddha's footprint regularly and later became a Loy Krathong tradition as seen today.
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Loy Krathong is a Thai festival in November each year celebrated throughout the kingdom since the Sukhothai period as well as in nearby countries or states with Tai culture such as Laos 🇱🇦, Shan/Mon/Tanintharyi 🇲🇲, Kelantan/Kedah 🇲🇾 and Xishuangbanna 🇨🇳 with different names.
Loy Krathong means "to float a basket" by making Krathong or buoyant, decorated baskets, which are then floated on a river to thank the Goddess of Water; Phra Mae Khongkha or Hindu Goddess Ganga.