Loy Krathong :-)

Loy Krathong was last Wednesday! It is a huge festival in Thailand and very important to many people here.  Here is a little background on it:

"Loi Krathong takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. In the western calendar this usually falls in November. Loi means 'to float', while krathong refers to a usually lotus-shaped container which floats on the water.  Thais use the krathongs to thank the Goddess of Water, Phra Mae Khongkha."

We have been hearing about Loy Krathong since the day we got here so I was very excited to be able to participate in it.  On Saturday, after we dropped Elise off at the airport we went straight to Maejo University in Chiang Mai.  They were holding a Yi Peng Festival, the Northern equivalent of Loy Krathong. A lot of the others were already there and Leah, Kate Rose and I were going to meet them.  We had no idea what to expect but were very excited! When we got to the University, there were a ton of vendors selling lanterns to light and send into the sky.  We had already called Mel and we knew they had spot saved for us and the whole group was sending a lantern up together, but we decided to do a lantern on our own also.  We bought a lantern for 30 baht each and the man helped us light them and send them off! It sounds so stupid but it was so moving and touching. When you let it go, you are supposed to make a wish and think good thoughts and I am not embarrassed to say that I cried. It was such the culmination of my trip to Thailand. I came here after a tough year of learning I had lung cancer and then having to get part of my lung removed. It was so cool to let go of my lantern and really feel like I made it. I survived and now I am living in Thailand! It was a really cool moment.

Letting go of my lantern!

Leah, Me and Kate Rose!

 So many lanterns!

Nick, Mel, Me and Kate Rose

After we lit and let go of our lanterns, we headed into the festival and met up with the other people from our group.  They had written all of our names on our lantern and then we wrote our favorite student's name on it also.  There was a really cool ceremony where monks chanted and walked around with krathongs.  Then they told us to light the ground lanterns, then to light our lantern with our ground lanterns. We all stood around it as the fire filled the lantern with heat and made a wish, then people started letting them go and it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen! People later said there were about 10,000 lanterns, I would definitely believe it.  When they were first let go, it was so pretty but as they got further and further away, the lanterns looked like thousands of stars. It was so cool.  We just stood watching them for a long time until there weren't any left.

On Wednesday, it was the day of actual Loy Krathong.  The school gave us some fun outfits to wear, told us to wear a lot of make-up, put our hair in a bun and meet at the school at 5.  Then they drove us to where the school's dance team and the rest of the teachers were and told us we would walk in the parade! Basically the whole town was in it so there were little to no spectators but it was so fun! We were all dressed up, carrying krathongs, and people were setting off firecrackers.

Mel, Leah and I lookin like Asian flight attendants!

English Department at Watmetang Karawas School!

Mimi, Kate and I with our krathongs!

After the parade, we went to the moat in the middle of the city and got ready to put our krathongs in the water. As you push the krathong away from you, you also push away the negativity and bad thoughts.  

Here were a lot of krathongs already in the moat!

It was such a great Loy Krathong! Couldn't have asked for better :-)