Water lamp in loi krathong, Thailand

The loi krathong in Thailand is said to have started from the Sukhothai dynasty. Legend has it that a long time ago, there was a sick princess in Siam who met Buddha Sakyamuni under a bodhi tree. The Buddha told her that if you want to get rid of your illness, you have to put your fingernails and hair in a lotus-shaped lamp holder on the full moon night of December 11 of the Buddhist calendar, and then light a candle and put it in the river. This story spread, Siamese people followed it, and developed into today's loi krathong.

another story is that about 7 years ago, there was a strange girl in Sukhothai, and its name was Naang Noparmart. She likes to make a lotus-shaped lamp with banana leaves, and then insert candles, incense and other decorations into the river to worship Buddha Sakyamuni. Later, the king learned about it, and not only rewarded Nopama greatly, but also ordered his people to put on water lights once a year, praying that everything would go well in the coming year. Since then, the day of the full moon in December of the Buddhist calendar (usually November of the solar calendar) has been designated as the loi krathong of Thailand. Nowadays, the most lively and grand place in Thailand to celebrate loi krathong is Sukhothai City, the ancient capital of Sukhothai Dynasty, the birthplace of water lanterns. There is an ancient temple in the ancient city, which is located on an island in the middle of the lake. Citizens and tourists gather here to float water lanterns during festivals.

On that day, the celebration started with a water lantern design and a miss water lantern beauty contest, and at the same time, there were parades of elephants, horses and floats in costumes, which made people feel as if they had returned to the ancient Sukhothai era, because Sukhothai was an ancient capital with historical significance, a famous ancient city with beautiful mountains and rivers and rich products.

At the same time, Chiang Mai in northern Thailand is also interesting. In the early morning, good men and believing women hold delicious meals, fruits and flowers and flock to the temple to give monks worship to the Buddha. The monks are busy receiving gifts and giving lectures. At night, small coconut oil lamps are lit indoors and outside every household, in the courtyard of Buddhist temples and around the walls. Coconut oil lamps made of banana leaves are floating in the river, and flashing lights are everywhere to climb up and look at the distance, as if the stars in the sky have fallen to earth. At this time, the parade competition and drowning activities of the big water lantern boat began. Headlight boats are beautifully decorated, which means beauty in China. Headlight boats are divided into beautiful and moral categories, and colored lights or candles are installed on them. The moral category is to hold things in the structure of the lantern boat, and its significance includes advocating democratic politics, advising people to unite and maintaining the inherent national culture. There are also several girls dressed in delicate and charming costumes on the boat. As the embodiment of Princess Nopama, they sit or dance demurely, just like fairies descending to earth. Twenty or thirty headlight boats sailed for the river bank after the parade.

Some hotels in Bangkok City Hall, which are located near the water or have small lakes and canals in their gardens, or even large and small pools with water jets in their halls, have become excellent places to put on water lanterns and inherit the beautiful traditional customs. They not only attract many Thai people or families to enjoy dinner in the hotel and put on water lanterns to send their wishes, but also bring exotic and beautiful Thai characteristics to foreign tourists, and they all take part in the water lanterns and leave an unforgettable night. The annual loi krathong, Thailand, spread all over the country, is charming and full of romantic atmosphere, and people spend this festival happily. The evening is the beautiful scenery of loi krathong, and people have come to various rivers and ports to put water lanterns, and the lights of rivers and rivers are dotted. Young men and women are affectionate, women pray for a husband, and men expect a beautiful partner. The general public, on the other hand, thanked the God of Heaven and Earth and the God of Water for giving them edible water in the past year, and expressed remorse for the filth thrown into rivers, praying for forgiveness of sins and a happy life in Kangning.

In fact, during my stay in loi krathong, not only were there wonderful performances in the historic ancient city of Sukhothai, but also water lanterns were seen everywhere in the streets and lanes outside the ancient city as early as a week ago. Shops play well-known loi krathong love songs, and stalls sell lotus flowers and candles for worship. Business is booming. On the night of the festival, everyone gathered in the Historical Park to enjoy a rich traditional Thai food on the big grass. Fried fish cakes, baked sweet potatoes, dried fish floss, spicy beans and vegetables were all placed in a big plate with a candle lit in the middle, which was very atmospheric.

On both sides of the park boulevard, food stalls are crowded. The most famous one is "bamboo rice", which is filled with red beans and glutinous rice. The entrance tastes fragrant and people can never get tired of eating it. The loi krathong celebration was held in the moat in front of the Wat Mahathat, the largest temple in the historical park. I saw girls dressed in traditional Thai costumes, each holding a water lamp, singing and dancing, and then putting the water lamp into the moat. All kinds of water lanterns float in the pond, and the water waves are sparkling, reflecting the Buddha statue of the ancient temple, which is full of poetry and painting, and also reproduces the grand occasion of water lanterns in the ancient city 7 years ago. There is also a beauty pageant of "The Queen of loi krathong". The contestants, dressed in traditional costumes, were asked by the emcee one by one, and then walked around the field with water lanterns in their hands, so that the audience could see their faces clearly at close range. The climax of the celebration was a sound and light performance. The story tells that 7 years ago, Emperor Nanganxing unified Siam. Later, the country was devastated by war for years, and the soldiers were forced to go out. The lovers in the rear had to put water lights on at home to pray for their lovers' safe return ... This wonderful sound and light show was magnificent, and it was worth the ticket price just by looking at the sound and lighting at the scene. Besides, hundreds of dancers gathered on the stage, dancing and singing, and finally fireworks and lanterns were set off. No wonder the audience applauded frequently.