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Night of the Floating Candles

Those words begin one of the most celebrated and memorable songs in Thailand. They are sung On the occasion of Loy Krathong itself which falls on the full-moon day of the 12th lunar month. This year the celebration takes place on the 21st of November.

As far as we know this festival had its beginnings in sukothai, the first capital of Thailand. Since then it has filtered through to other parts of the country. Down in Phuket you can find the party at Sapan Hin' , where the action starts in the afternoon and finishes in the early hours of the next morning.

It is well worth joining the crowds, but make sure you have some fast film if you want to capture the night time parades and competitions as well as the final floating ceremony.

So what is it all about, you might ask? Well, like so many other festivals, it involves those nasty spirits that keep cropping up in people's lives. Here is an opportunity to rid oneself of these fallen angels. First of all we have to design some sort of vessel on which the bad spirits will ride off into the abyss. This vessel is known as a "krathong".

Traditionally, a krathong is bowl-shaped and made with banana leaves. In its center is placed a lotus flower, and in the center of that a lighted candle. Having made our krathong, we now have to seek out those demons which have been taunting us during the past year. They may have been living in our hair. So we must cut off a few locks and place them in the krathong. And what if they set up home beneath our fingernails? Well, we'd better clip them too and add them to our vessel. Then what about that shirt that always seems to bring us bad luck when we wear it? There are probably a few of the little terrors in there also. Better pull a few threads or cut off some of the material and throw it in with the other passengers. Finally, a few pieces of money are thrown in to make the merit of the whole deal more obvious. Then we take our krathong down to the water and watch it float down river or out to sea. But wait a minute! What about the fun? Surely there must be more to Loy Krathong day than just sending off unwanted spirits!

Of course there is. Like most Buddhist festivals there is an element of fun from the moment the celebrations start until the moment they finish. Here we have a chance to show off our krathongs and perhaps enter them in a competition. The hotels of Phuket regularly construct huge krathongs which sometimes need trucks to transport them to the site. They are paraded and applauded and more so if there happens to be a pretty girl sitting inside.

Since this is a festival of exotic floral displays, why not have a beauty competition where those gorgeous Thai girls can be covered with flowers? Thus we have a traditional beauty contest, in which the onlookers choose their favorite girl by purchasing floral leis and draping them around her shoulders. The girls themselves have been groomed, dressed and made up during the long hot hours of the afternoon. Prizes are the least they deserve for coping with the fuss and fury of the competition, not to mention surviving the trauma of being paraded in full costume laden with garlands of flowers. And of course those Thai smiles which come naturally enough during a normal day are often a strain in front of large crowds.

Throw in some stalls, games and that favorite pastime, eating, and you have an afternoon and an evening of wonderful enjoyment for all members of the family. You may find a greasy pole to climb or a Thai version of a coconut shy. Almost certainly, as a visitor you will get the chance to buy your own personal krathong which, in modern style, usually has a polystyrene base, guaranteeing that at the very least it will float.

Until recently Phuket had more than one Loy Krathong festival, some of which were held on the beach. However, with the rapid development taking place around the island there is not only less space available but also strong objections from the environmentalists, who are keen to see the beaches remain as untouched as possible.

If you can't get to town, don't despair. Should you be staying in a medium to large-sized hotel there is likely a program already scheduled for this jovial day. Like the local Thais, you may want to send off your krathong at midnight with wishes for good luck and banishment for those spirits who have disturbed you during the past year. What could be more romantic or more prophetic than wishing away one's bad luck and thereby opening the door to some better times ahead? And all this on, we hope, a starlit night at the water's edge.

There may not always be instant recognition for your aspirations as the tide may wash your krathong ashore again. However, persistence can be rewarded if you are prepared to stay long enough and the light from your candle should eventually find its way out to sea, or under it.

Your hotel may also have arranged a party night to celebrate the occasion. Included will no doubt be a lavish barbecue dinner, games, entertainment, and, perhaps, a beauty contest amongst the female staff. Here you can vote for your favorite waitress or room maid who may not be quite so recognizable beneath all the layers of make-up. You are also likely to find beautiful fruit carvings dominating the tables that are well worth photographing themselves.

Going back to the origin of this festival, we can also say that it is a time for giving thanks to the goddess of water for the rain which makes possible the annual rice harvest. Her pardon is also asked for polluting her water in various ways. It was during one of these festivals that the "krathong" first appeared. In Sukothai the king was out down by the river watching his subjects enjoying the water festival. A lady of the court, the beautiful Nang Nopamart, made a krathong in the shape of a lotus and gave it to the king. He in turn floated it on the water and began a tradition that has lasted for centuries. The words Loy (to float) and Krathong (a cup made from banana leaves) have remained as the name of this celebration.

Even today, the floating out to sea of the candle-lit krathongs is both memorable and romantic, and will serve as a reminder of your time in Phuket.