Loy Krathong by Chalin Creed, Y11, Sir William Romney School

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Loy Krathong Festival in Thailand

Loy Krathong is my favourite festival in Thailand. It takes place in November. It starts in the evening at about 7.00pm and goes on until midnight. It always happens on the full moon night.

Loy Krathong means floating leaf-cup. I always make Krathong by myself. I need to cut the banana tree section - not very thick and not very thin. I take the banana leaf and fold in the shape that I want and I use pins or small nails to fasten it. I hide the coins inside. Then I stick some flowers, incense, and the candle in the middle. Now it is finished and ready for the evening.

In the evening we go to the river and the monk comes to say prayers. We say prayers to May Kongkla. After that we light the candles and incense, and then float the Krathongs on the river. When there are a lot of people, there are a lot of lighted candles and it looks so beautiful! It looks like when you look down from the aeroplane and see a lot of little lights in the country below.

There are also a lot of fireworks, so the sky is lit up too!

Afterwards, we all go to the garden of the Temple to play some games, and go dancing. You can also buy some food there.

Finally, my Gran used to say to me that if you are going to float Krathong with someone you love, if your Krathongs float together it means you and him will be married. But I am not sure if it is true!

Some websites about Loy Krathong

www.learningthai.com/loy_krathong