Tourists release floating lanterns at Homage to the Lord Buddha during the festival of Yee Peng in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai November 12, 2005. The annual festival is celebrated as a religious event in which locals throughout the region make merit and carry out other religious activities. The highlight of the event is the launching of the ‘Khom loy’, or floating lanterns, into the night sky with the belief that misfortune will float away with the lanterns. REUTERS/Sukree Sukplang
I went there too. It’s really really wonderful festival. Super great feeling to saw how sooo beautiful on the sky at night time with thousand of the lanterns. Awesome !
I don’t want to blink at all. Everyone there look soooooooooo happy in their face. I can not wait to see that again on the next year !
Wow! That is so beautiful. Great pictures I agree with Linja what an awesome feeling you just want to drink in everything and not miss a drop. After reading Richards other blog it’s great to see real Thai ‘magic’
W.
I’ve seen this too. It’s very pretty, like millions of stars rising towads the moon. In a few days, mine will join them too.
Have a nice Loy Krathong, everywhere in the world.
They do this here in Samut Prakan but I have never seen it on that scale. Apparently, it is now banned for locations under flight paths!
I will always remember last New Years Eve in Chiang Mai when the sky was full of Khom Loys, which we were told were launched for the spirits of those killed in the Tsunami 6 days before.
The Yee Peng celebrations festival (pictured above) is also for tonight (Tuesday) and Wednesday, no? (the big one Wednesday?)
I thinking of coming up from Bangkok for a couple of nights… hope someone can let me know so I don’t go up and everything’s over…
Thanks,
Jayden
omg d picture is so pretty i want to cry………..
Jayden -there is a schedule of the Yee Peng events here:
http://www.chiangmaitouristguide.com/feature1.html#schedule
Hope this helps and you enjoy the festival
The pictures as above with the thousand of lanterns’re at the San-Sai city where far from Chiang Mai down town about 12 km. And this big festival in this city will have just 1 day per year. But you guys can go to celebrate and go to release the lanterns at the down town of Chiang Mai too. They have the big and long very nice parades over there in the down town of Chiang Mai and they ‘re have so many people release the lanterns to the sky at night time too. It’s so beautil. But in the down town of Chiang Mai they will not release the thousand of lanterns in the same time like at San-Sai city. In down town of CM you will can see the people release the lanterns around down town not in just one area. I’m sure that you will love it like I love it. That will be very great memory for you and your friends. If you go down town of CM don’t forget to go to Sunday market ,pls. soooo many cool stuffs. Enjoy it !!
Ohh one more thing for this year on 15-17 nov in down town of CM will be good time to check it out around there. And yes the big day is on Wednesday becuase of that day will be full moon.
We just missed Yee Peng last year when we went up north. Still saw some random Khom flying around though. At first we were like, hey was that a UFO?
By the way, DIBS on writing about how to make a kratong! I’m making ours tonight!!
Have you ever wondered why in the north it is called “Yee Peng” – the fullmoon festival of the second lunar month, whereas “Loy Krathong” is in the twelfth lunar month in the central and southern area?
Well…usually the monsoon season will end two months earlier than in the South. The festival is actually a Pagan/Animism ritual to mark the begining of dry season. The Khomloy and The krathong are intended to send the monsoon rainfall/flood back to its source. The Hindu/Buddhist explanations were only introduced later in the late nineteenth century.
How cool,
How do they make them float?
How do you make them?
I want to make some also.
Very nice moment to experience.
Left ChiangMai on 9 November and just missed it. I could have bought one back to KL. As floating light may affect civil aviation, KhomLoy is outlaw in Malaysia especially if you live near the airport.
Chinese equivalent of KhomLoy is Kong Ming Deng 孔明灯. Kong Ming Deng is invented by Kong Ming, a General during the Chinese 3-Kingdom era who used this lamp to mobilise his troop.
Just found this link.
http://www.xsbnly.com/english/Exciting%20Actions_lamp.htm
The Tai’s in Southern China province of SipsongPanna also celebrate this festival. Culture recognises no political borders, it follows people.
Culture recognises no political borders, it follows people
I like that, can I use it or do I need to apply to use your copyright 55+
W.
Dear Wit,
Go ahead & use it. This is just one of those line that come along when you try to piece words together.
BTW, what is 55+?
My bad, it’s supposed to be 555+ not 55+. Thai people use that when chatting online like we farang use LOL, they both mean ‘laughing out loud.’ The + means laughing a lot (I guess) ;\
My Thai friends online are so amazed (impressed maybe?) that I know what that means, 555
Thanks for the nod, I like to use quotes like that as a tag on my personal e-mail
W.
Number 5 in Thai language we’re pronouce that “ha”
So, 5 5 5 = ha ha ha
” 555+ ” It’s mean 5 5 5 5 5 5 55 5 5 5 55
It’s cute and made me had a giggle to saw farang use that laugh 5 55 5
Thanks, Khun Don! Chiang Mai was lovely! My lantern almost caught fire in a tree…lol.
Some more pictures of Yee Peng here:
http://www.chiangmai-mail.com/current/features.shtml#hd1
Jayden -Glad you made it on the right day !
This is one of the festivals I would like to attend when I visit Thailand. The lights are just awesome.
I want to make/purchase khom loy lamps for a festival. Can anyone help me out? As to provide url for purchase or instructions? thank you
please email me at jambex@hotmail.com
How do you make those magical lanterns.
they are sublime.
Hello….I REALLY want to purchase/make Khom Loy lanterns for my upcoming wedding!! Any information you could give would be greatly appreciated!!
You can contact me at johnson.tim@att.net
Thank You
I will blog about this shortly – maybe some tips on how to make yourself and even where to buy online.
Look forward to that blog, Richard -and where outside of Thailand one can buy Khom Loys.
One thought -do you think that one would need to get permission to launch these things in the UK -concerns as to being “hazards to air traffic” etc ?
And this fellow seems to have a good set of instructions worked out, except that I would substitute tissue paper envelopes/bags (shown at another site) for environmental reasons:
http://www.geocities.com/timbo2049/fireballoons.htm
Note to Shelley, and others like her:
I think it would be possible to either purchase or figure out various ways to do this. However, we should remember that although our internet may help us transport great ideas great distances, one should always be careful when we change environments. Thailand is a land with a lot of water, I believe, and moisture-laden vegetation, I think. There probably isn’t much danger of wildfires there. Where do you live? Also, the people in Thailand are used to doing these ceremonies on a regular basis, so they are accustomed to the materials and handling of the balloons – perhaps they let them fly out towards a large body of water or a deserted field, for example, and they know the prevailing wind directions. You are thinking of doing this with people who have never done it before, (and who may be inebriated?). I would strongly suggest that you consider your environment, the weather at the time of the ceremony, quality/clarity of instructions to your guests, etc. It wouldn’t be very nice to celebrate your wedding by starting a potentially devastating fire. It also might be a good idea if you are in a populated area to give some notice to the neighbors and the local fire department, too (on the one hand, it might sort of be reassuring to have them on stand-by… on the other hand, they might just nix it, I know). And even in Thailand, I hear that they ban these ceremonies near airports…
Then there’s the pollution factor…try to make everything biodegradable…
I’m sorry if I’m raining on your wedding, I don’t want to. I completely in sympathy with your desire to do it. If you can do it safely, please do, with my best wishes.
I found a simplistic description of how the lamps are made on this page: http://www.chiangmai-chiangrai.com/loy_krathong-lantern_festival_yee_peng.html
Here’s a another page leading to several sources for hot-air balloon/lantern making instructions/kits/sites etc. :
http://www.overflite.com/links.html
could someone let me know how is this “Khom loy” done.
Thnx
could someone let me know how is this “Khom loy” done.
you can reply on shhyam@rediffmai.com; the ID went missing.. thnx
I went to Maejo N of CHiang Mai to see the Buddhist ceremonies and then the release of 5000 khom loy all at once. It was incredible. The earth seemed to rise!
(Some got caught in trees but yes the area is very green and moist – wet season almost ended.)