Loy Krathong lights up the skies and waters

This weekend a beautiful and luminous full moon lit up the night skies as Thailand celebrated the traditional Loy Krathong 'Festival of Lights'. The beautiful and traditional Thai festival sees the skies and the waters lit up by krathong floats and giant sky lanterns. People make beautiful krathong floats typically from banana leaves, flowers, 3 incense sticks and a candle and set them off in rivers and canals and according to Brahmin beliefs, pay respect and gratitude to mother earth and ask for forgiveness for polluting the water.

A parade for the festival was held in Mae Sai on Saturday with some of our older children coming into town to enjoy the festivities. Our Nana Buffet Restaurant ran a food stall during the celebrations to raise some money for the shelter. Also that evening Kru Ngaow, staff and volunteers joined the younger children for celebrations at the shelter around a camp fire, singing songs, playing activities and setting off beautiful giant sky lanterns.

The following evening the children attended the celebrations at the local Sankhong village, where many of the children attend school. The celebrations included a parade of floats, lots of music, dancing, fireworks and crackers. The children then walked to the nearby river the set off their krathong floats they had made at school and the shelter during the week.

The beautiful festival was lots of fun for all the children, staff and volunteers at Childlife :)