Loy Krathong
Next: November 24, 2026
Let your worries float downstream.
The story
Where it comes from
Loy Krathong, 'floating a krathong', falls on the full-moon night of the twelfth month of the Thai lunar calendar, usually in November, when the rains end and rivers run high. People float small offerings to thank Phra Mae Khongkha, goddess of the water, and to ask her forgiveness for using and polluting it. A popular story credits Nang Noppamas, a court lady of Sukhothai, with the first lotus-shaped krathong, but historians date that tale to a poem of the early Bangkok period, and similar moon and water rites were kept earlier in the Khmer world.
How it's celebrated
Families fold banana leaves into petals around a slice of banana trunk, add flowers, a candle and incense, then light it, make a wish and set it on a river, canal or pond. Some add a nail clipping or a strand of hair to let go of bad thoughts. Sukhothai Historical Park, in Thailand's first capital, holds nights of candles and light-and-sound shows, and Chiang Mai joins the night to Yi Peng, its lantern festival.
Did you know
- Sukhothai's festival is called Loy Krathong, Phao Thian, Len Fai: 'floating krathongs, burning candles, playing with fire'.
- In March 2025 Thailand's cabinet approved a bid to add Loy Krathong to UNESCO's list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.
- Malaysia's Siamese community keeps the festival too, at Thai Buddhist temples in Tumpat, Kelantan, such as Wat Phikulthong Vararam.
The greeting
สุขสันต์วันลอยกระทง · Suk San Wan Loy Krathong
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