Almost everyone around the world has heard about the nationwide water fight in Thailand, which is a part of Songkran or Thai New Year’s celebrations. Thai cuisine is also known and loved by many people around the world. However, the Loy Krathong Festival is virtually unknown to most of the world.
Loy Krathong is a treasured national observance that occurs annually in Thailand. We’ll share the traditions and meaning behind the Loy Krathong Festival and why a visit to Thailand is always a special experience at this time of year.
If you want to experience the beauty of Loy Krathong for yourself and you’ll be in town this November, you should book a hotel room near the MRT in Ratchada, Bangkok. The MRT will give you quick access to the river area and the many parks with lakes in the city where people will congregate with their krathongs.
What is the Significance of the Loy Krathong Festival?
Simply put, the Loy Krathong Festival is a celebration of gratitude for past good fortune and wishes and hope for the future. The name “Loy Krathong” is a combination of the words “loy,” meaning to float, and “krathong,” a small floating basket or offering.
The common belief in Thailand is that Loy Krathong originated in the Sukhothai Kingdom from 1238 to 1438. A high-ranking concubine of the King of Sukhothai, Nang Noppamas, created an elegant float shaped like a lotus flower to worship the Lord Buddha. Her design is said to be the basis of the modern krathong.
When Does the Loy Krathong Festival Happen?
The festival is traditionally celebrated during the full moon of the twelfth month of the Thai lunar calendar, which usually falls in the month of November, although the exact date changes from year to year. The 12th month completes the lunar cycle, and although it doesn’t represent the start of a new year, it’s an occasion for happiness and looking forward to new beginnings.
It’s also not considered a holiday in Thailand, but it’s an observance that most Thai Buddhists participate in, and many people have built family traditions around the Loy Krathong Festival.
What is a Krathong?
The highlight of the Loy Krathong Festival is the sight of multitudes of small, candle-lit floats, called krathongs, floating across bodies of water, small and large, all across Thailand. The krathongs carry the wishes and gratitude of the Thai people, who decorate them with tokens and symbols of their desires and things they’re thankful for.
Krathongs are small floats traditionally made from banana leaves and sections of banana trunks used as a floating base. In recent years, some people have used Styrofoam as a base for the krathongs, a practice frowned upon by the Thai government and environmentalists.
The krathongs are covered with banana leaves, flowers and candles. Some carry sticks of incense, others carry a few coins and hair or nail clippings from grateful owners, and some carry offerings of food. People gather beside the most convenient body of water and set their krathongs afloat on the water, offering prayers as they watch their krathong float off.
Experience the Loy Krathong Festival in Bangkok
Booking a hotel in the Ratchada area with a fitness room and pool that is also close to the MRT enables you to choose where you’d like to experience Loy Krathong. You can reach the riverside area from Ratchada by taking the MRT to the Silom line of the BTS and transferring. The Saphan Taksin BTS station is right above Sathorn Pier and puts you in the heart of the Loy Krathong celebrations along the river. However, if you don’t want to travel that far, the bottom of Ratchada Road, where it meets Asoke, may also offer you a glimpse of the Loy Krathong Festival.
Amanta Hotel & Residence Ratchada is the ideal place to stay and observe Loy Krathong along the San Saep Klong (canal). There are walkways along the sides of the canal where visitors can watch the Krathongs floating. Simply take the MRT a couple of stops to the Petchaburi Station, next to the canal.
The best places to observe are the walkways on the opposite sides of the river taxi piers in the canal. The piers are where the celebrants will gather to launch their krathongs on the canal waters. If you want to see Loy Krathong in the canal, you should visit after 9 PM. This is when the water taxis stop running for the night, the water in the canal becomes calm, and the piers are empty of commuters.
Book Your Room at Amanta Hotel & Residence Ratchada
Book one of our spacious rooms at Amanta Hotel & Residence Ratchada near the MRT and spend the Loy Krathong Festival in Bangkok this November.
