BANGKOK, Nov 11 (TNA) – Thailand celebrates
the annual Loy Krathong Festival, one of the Kingdom’s oldest and most colorful
traditional festivities, on Monday.
Loy Krathong Festival dates back centuries ago during the
Sukhothai era and has now gained popularity with overseas visitors.
A grand celebration is again organized at Sukhothai
historical park highlighting a procession of royal inauguration flame bestowed
by His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn and the Royal Family.
The parade also took traditional krathongs or floats through
city streets for the historical park where Sukhothai Loy Krathong and Candle
Festival takes place to celebrate the glorious ancient kingdom.
Light-and-sound performance, old-styled village market and
various contests entertain revelers before the grand krathong floating begins
at 11 pm.
Chiang Mai’s annual Loy Krathong offers unique features as
the city is the center of Lanna civilization of Thailand’s north. The festival is referred to as the Yi Peng
Festival. People start the day with a ceremony on the bank of the Ping River to
pay homage to the river goddess Ganga.
Traditional Lanna krathong floating will be held along with
fireworks processions and merit-making in local customs.
In the capital city of Bangkok, revelers will congregate at
locations along the Chao Phraya River to float krathongs. It has become a big task for the metropolitan
authorities to remove millions of krathongs from the main waterway.
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has prepared
hundreds of workers to collect krathongs, beginning from 8
pm.
The BMA has urged people to cutback number of krathongs,
releasing only one for each family or couple in order to reduce riverine trash
pollution. (TNA)
