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thailand : Government Promotes the Celebration of Loi Krathong Festival |
 Government Promotes the Celebration of Loi Krathong FestivalThe Government is launching a public relations campaign to promote the celebration of Loi Krathong Festival, one of the most fascinating water-based cultural events in Thailand.
The festival takes place all over Thailand on the full-moon night of the twelfth lunar month. This year, Loi Krathong Day is observed on November 2, and in many places, the festival lasts a few days. Various government agencies and private organizations are joining hands in arranging activities to celebrate this festival and, at the same time, to promote and preserve Thai culture, including the way of life and good values.
The Loi Krathong Festival came into being during the Sukhothai period, more than 700 years ago. It is a form of thanksgiving by the people to the waterways on which they depend. The festival is also meant to seek pardon from the Goddess of Water for their sins in polluting the water. For the rural folk, this festival is believed to carry away the sins and misfortunes of the past year.
There is evidence that in the days when Sukhothai was the capital of the Thai Kingdom, Loi Krathong was a state ceremony, a way of paying homage to sacred beings. Then, the tradition was modified when Nang Nopphamat, a favorite consort of King Phra Rueang, thought up the idea of making the krathong into the shape of a lotus flower, as well as other shapes, and floating it downstream. The King was attracted by the idea and decreed it an annual event.
People celebrate this festival by lighting candles and incense sticks, making a wish, and carefully placing the krathong in a river, canal, stream, or pond. Miss Orapin Wonchumpit, Director-General of the Department of Environmental Quality Promotion, on October 27 led a team of officials and artistes to present krathong, made from natural materials, to Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and other members of the Cabinet. The move is part of a campaign to encourage Loi Krathong celebrants to use krathong made from natural materials such as banana leaves and stalks, replacing styrofoam, in order to reduce water pollution and ease global warming. Styrofoam products are extremely difficult to dispose of, so foam krathong pollute the rivers.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the Government Public Relations Department (PRD), Mr. Grisanaporn Soempanich, told a press conference on October 28 that PRD would organize a fair in celebration of the Loi Krathong Festival. The three-day fair, scheduled for November 2-4, will take place at the PRD Headquarters on Soi Aree Samphan, Phahonyothin Road, in Bangkok. It features concerts, a bazaar of local products with 150 booths, and folk games, as well as a food fair.
Minister to the Prime Minister’s Office Satit Wongnongtaey will preside over the opening ceremony on November 2 at 4:00 p.m., marking Loi Krathong Day. The highlights on that day include a naga procession and a Nang Nopphamat beauty contest. Everyone is invited to join this cultural event to celebrate the Loi Krathong Festival, which reflects the intimate relations between Thai people and waterways on which they depend for their livelihood.
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