Loy Kratong

Loy Kratong is a traditional Thai holiday held on the full moon of the 12th month in the Thai calender. It does not fall on the same date every year(full moon), but it usually falls in November. Loy means "float(ing)" and Kratong is a "raft". Kratongs are beautiful floats made from banana tree and leaves, flowers, candles, and incense. Each float is different, but a lot of the ones I saw used orchids(mi favorito flora). The purpose of releasing the rafts is apparently so they can apologize to the river for polluting it. I've also heard another theory that suggests that it is a time and way to worship their ancestors. I've also heard that it is to wish away bad luck. I'm not sure if it's one, none, or all of these things combined, but it was fun to see a Thai tradition and take part in it too. 

It all started yesterday morning at school. At 8:00am, the program started. They had set up a

stage and a sound system. Parents were ushering in, and I began noticing little girls that were elaborately dressed in traditional Thai garb. Then I remembered that on Loy Kratong, there are usually beauty contests held. I just didn't know our school would have one! Before that could start though, they had a couple of groups of students do performances. One was a groups of 4 girls that danced to the "Loy Kratong" song and did Thai dance(if you've seen ANTM in Thailand, you'll know what it looks like, haha). After this, the beauty contest began. Apparently, these things last FOREVER. It went on for over an hour. The little girls were precious though! They were dressed to the hilt. They had make-up on, their hair was done in up-do's, etc. In the end, my EP5 girl got 3rd, my EP3 girl got 3rd, and my EP2 girl got 2nd! I was so proud of them! 

After Wednesday night prayer meeting with the Pastor at the Language School, Mike, me, Maria, Merika, Lucas, and 3 Thais(that I can't remember the names of) headed out to the river for Loy Kratong. We took a 71 bus to the BTS, then took a long BTS ride to the river(which I can't remember the name of). Once we got down there, I realized just how popular of a holiday this was. There were people everywhere! People of all ethnicities were there as well. We walked around a bit, watched the fireworks(which reminded me of home and my b-day), then lit our candles. We made our way down to the river, and set our rafts free. It was pretty cool. Of course, I wasn't praying to my ancestors, but it was a neat idea to think of setting the raft go for "good luck". I simply sent up a little prayer. With muddied knees, I joined the rest of the group and we made our way back home. 

It was definitely an interesting and fun day full of Thai traditions and culture. I enjoyed learning more about the culture I have been immersed in for 4 months now. I hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving! I'm making a pumpkin swirl cheesecake for the group here. Miss you all SO much. Please don't forget to pray for the Elliott and Miller families. It's hard to lose a loved one, even when you know you WILL see them again.