Thailand Gets Ready To Celebrate Loi Krathong

[Jai Dee]

PRD organizes Loi Krathong Celebration

The Public Relations Department has vowed to organize its most extravagant Loi Krathong celebration ever. The event will feature amusement rides and machines, live musical performances from celebrities, shopping stalls with celebrity sales booths and a multitude of other activities. There will also be a mass floating of traditional Krathong’s.

Deputy Director of the Public Relations Department Pachern Kumpoh (เผชิญ ขำโพธื์) stated that the department is looking into creating the most attractive it has been for years with the purpose of enticing youths to learn more about the heritage and cultural implication of the Loi Krathong holiday.

The celebration is a joint effort by both the department and surrounding establishments creating an event on a much more grand scale. The celebration, entitled “Ruen Rueng Bun Tueng Thai” (รืนเริงบันเทิงไทย) will take place from today until November 24th at the Public Relations Department on Aree Sampan road.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 22 November 2007

[Jai Dee]

Police affirm readiness for Loy Krathong Festival

Deputy Commander of the Royal Thai Police, Police General Wirot Pahonvache (วิโรจน์ พหลเวชช์) has led preparations for the Loy Krathong festival in which police have prepared 580 officers with 440 Municipal workers and 440 volunteers. Police General Wirot stated that this year’s agenda is to focus on road blocks to inspect for intoxicated people and to patrol major gatherings.

Police ask that citizens cooperating by dissuading youngsters from using motorcycles and fire works. Authorities warn that minors caught disturbing the peace will have their guardians held responsible for the incident.

The Office of the National Police affirms that police nation wide are well prepared for the festival.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 22 November 2007

[Jai Dee]

ISOC Region 4 bans fireworks during Loi Krathong Festival in deep South

The Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) Region 4 calls on people in the Southern border provinces not to use fireworks during the Loi Krathong (ลอยกระทง) Festival this year due to concerns that insurgents might mingle among them to create chaos.

Director of ISOC’s Information Operations Division, Col.Akara Thiprote (อัคร ทิพโรจน์), discloses that there will be activities to celebrate the Loi Krathong Festoval in the Southern border provinces on November 24. However, the authorities impose bans on the use fireworks and other explosive items which can alarm the general public. Those who violate the ban will face criminal charges, the director says.

Col.Akara states further that the ban was initiated due to continuous violence by insurgents in the provinces.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 22 November 2007

[jayjayjayjay]

PRD organizes Loi Krathong Celebration

The Public Relations Department has vowed to organize its most extravagant Loi Krathong celebration ever. The event will feature amusement rides and machines, live musical performances from celebrities, shopping stalls with celebrity sales booths and a multitude of other activities.

"...enticing youths to learn more about the heritage and cultural implication of the Loi Krathong holiday."

amusement rides !!!!!!!! machines !!!!!!!! celebrity performances, assuming loud loud music !!!!!!!! shopping stalls !!!!!!!!!!

Is it only me or is this all irrelivant to a the cultural implications and heritage of Loi Krathong we are talking about.

How about a giant banana trunk krathong viking swing or maybe a super banana trunk krathong roller coaster. Substitute foam for the Samak cultural option! 55555

[Galong]

I reckon they haven't figured out a way to charge (fleece) foreigners who wish to attend this event.

[stub]

Anyone got maps or directions to the celebrations for the geographically challenged amongst us? The only Aree Sampan I can find is nowhere near water...

[koto]

PRD organizes Loi Krathong Celebration

The Public Relations Department has vowed to organize its most extravagant Loi Krathong celebration ever. The event will feature amusement rides and machines, live musical performances from celebrities, shopping stalls with celebrity sales booths and a multitude of other activities.

"...enticing youths to learn more about the heritage and cultural implication of the Loi Krathong holiday."

amusement rides !!!!!!!! machines !!!!!!!! celebrity performances, assuming loud loud music !!!!!!!! shopping stalls !!!!!!!!!!

Is it only me or is this all irrelivant to a the cultural implications and heritage of Loi Krathong we are talking about.

How about a giant banana trunk krathong viking swing or maybe a super banana trunk krathong roller coaster. Substitute foam for the Samak cultural option! 55555

How about teaching everyone about makeing every thing friendly to mother nature, after all, it is all about friendship, love and good life, we should do the same with our earth

[bobbyphon]

Why is it that everytime a topic comes up.. ... there is always someone that is so negative ?? Reference some of the cracks about the Loy Krathong celebration...

If you have all these problems with the way things are done in the country... Why do you live here...

Have a good one...

[peridot]

Anyone got maps or directions to the celebrations for the geographically challenged amongst us? The only Aree Sampan I can find is nowhere near water...

http://www.yellow.co.th/Bangkok/BangkokMap...Soi+Ari+Samphan

South from Ari skytrain station on Pahon Yothin Road, turn right on Pahon Yothin Soi 5, then left on Ari Soi 1 to Soi Ari Samphan.

[Bkkthebest]

Anyone got maps or directions to the celebrations for the geographically challenged amongst us? The only Aree Sampan I can find is nowhere near water...

http://www.yellow.co.th/Bangkok/BangkokMap...Soi+Ari+Samphan

South from Ari skytrain station on Pahon Yothin Road, turn right on Pahon Yothin Soi 5, then left on Ari Soi 1 to Soi Ari Samphan.

Thanks for the great map. There is still no indication of any river.

[Ijustwannateach]

They've set up a VERY minor funfair near my home; main feature is a loud, bright, noisy stage set up right next to a residential neighborhood. I mean, I don't want to be a killjoy, but find a parking lot somewhere or something....

"S"

[Jai Dee]

The new spirit of Loy Krathong

Festival is more about fun

Have Thais lost the true spirit of Loy Krathong? As they go to rivers, klongs or ponds to float their lotus-shaped vessels under a shining full moon, they will be evoking a grand ritual of the past. But what exactly is going through the minds of the new generation, who seem to be increasingly obsessed with the entertainment aspect of everything?

"I believe that more than 50 per cent of Thai youths now have forgotten the spirit of Loy Krathong," said Dr Wit Sittivaekin, a marketing executive of Siam Commercial Bank.

"By tradition, we celebrate the Loy Krathong festival to pay respect to the Mother rivers and ask for forgiveness because we drank water from the rivers and sometimes threw dirty things into them. But most people now view the festival as just another occasion for pure entertainment."

The Thais are easy-going people who never miss a chance to add entertainment to any aspect of their lives, and the Loy Krathong festival is no exception.

"Well, it's a combination of both - the entertainment and the tradition," said Ann, a writer living in Bangkok.

"In the old days, people participated in the festival to seek blessings for their love from the Mother Spirit, which resides in the rivers. But they also wanted to have a good time. I don't think it has changed that much, although people now pay less attention to tradition," she said.

Of all the Thai festivals, Loy Krathong is perhaps one of the most ritualistic and colourful. A krathong normally carries a candle, three joss sticks and some flowers. Floating the krathong down the river during high tide, and after the rainy season is over, not only signifies an attempt to purge evil or bad luck, but is also an act of worship of the Goddess of the water.

Ancient Thai beliefs and folklore hold that there are higher spirits residing everywhere - in rivers, trees and mountains. There is virtually no place on earth that is not, or has not been, occupied by ghosts or by gods. You are supposed to act with reserve and not speak out loud when you are in a forest because you do not want to disturb the spirits.

The festival is celebrated nationwide, with Bangkok, Sukhothai, Chiang Mai, Ayutthaya and Songkhla the favourite spots for tourists to observe it. A Tourism Authority of Thailand website, www.loykrathong.net provides information about the events in these provinces.

Interestingly, you can now float a krathong online. There are almost a dozen kinds for you to choose from and set afloat at your favourite spot. But first you have to make a wish, probably to the spirit of Mother Online.

"I would not want to go out on Loy Krathong these days. The traffic is very bad, it is crowded everywhere. But I think Loy Krathong has changed with the times. In the old days, we used banana leaves to make the krathong. Then we used the foam, which harmed the environment. Now we have become more conscious about the environment and use hard bread instead, which can dissolve in the water without polluting the river," said Cathriya Woradejmongkol, a housewife.

But to enjoy the true spirit of Loy Krathong, you probably have to visit the 800-year-old former Siamese capital of Sukhothai, 450 kilometres north of Bangkok.

Once a year Sukhothai is revived and brightened up for the Loy Krathong Festival, set against modern lights and sounds. As young girls clad in exquisite Thai costumes prepare to float their krathongs on the pond of the Sukhothai historical park in front of thousands of visitors, they look like descendants of the grandiose Noppamas.

Legend has it that Noppamas, a beautiful lady of exceptional wit and charm, devised the first krathong in the 13th century. She served in the court of King Lithai, the grandson of King Ramkhamhaeng The Great, inventor of the Thai alphabet. A favourite of the king, Noppamas was said to have raised court mannerisms and practices to a high order.

The krathong she floated created a lasting tradition that is still observed today, though with different imagery.

Some history scholars attempt to discredit Noppamas as a fictitious character, but that is not important to most Thais. Noppamas beauty pageants are still held across the country.

Whether she was a real person or fictional character is a subject of controversial academic debate. But let the academics carry on their debate. Noppamas will continue to exist in a country where history and legend are interchangeable.

Source: The Nation - 23 November 2007

[Jai Dee]

BMA geared up to ensure safety during Loy Krathong Festival

Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) Governor Apirak Kosayothin has stated that the BMA has organized areas for Loy Krathong celebrations which it encourages citizens to utilize. The areas are located under the Rama 8 bridge, Santi Chaiprakan Park, Khlong Padung Krungkasem (คลองผดุงกรุงเกษม), Khlong Khu Muang Derm (คลองคูเมืองเดิม) and 16 additional public parks. The BMA has prepared 2,750 authorities and municipal workers to ensure safety in the areas. The authorities will cooperate with police to secure all the set areas.

Police are also prepared to launch assistance throughout the capital with several supplementary posts being erected in the city.

The BMA urges citizens to take part in festivities in the set areas as it has prepared many special activities. The Khlong Khu Muang Derm area has had a special temporary pond built that the BMA expects to delight many citizens.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 23 November 2007

[Gluestick]

PRD organizes Loi Krathong Celebration

The Public Relations Department has vowed to organize its most extravagant Loi Krathong celebration ever. The event will feature amusement rides and machines, live musical performances from celebrities, shopping stalls with celebrity sales booths and a multitude of other activities.

"...enticing youths to learn more about the heritage and cultural implication of the Loi Krathong holiday."

amusement rides !!!!!!!! machines !!!!!!!! celebrity performances, assuming loud loud music !!!!!!!! shopping stalls !!!!!!!!!!

Is it only me or is this all irrelivant to a the cultural implications and heritage of Loi Krathong we are talking about.

How about a giant banana trunk krathong viking swing or maybe a super banana trunk krathong roller coaster. Substitute foam for the Samak cultural option! 55555

And Christmas is about a jolly, fat man in a red suit while Easter is about running around hunting for eggs filled with candy...lots of cultural implications there.

[Kaojai]

Why is it that everytime a topic comes up.. ... there is always someone that is so negative ?? Reference some of the cracks about the Loy Krathong celebration...

If you have all these problems with the way things are done in the country... Why do you live here...

Have a good one...

After many years of reading ThaiVisa, I'm still amazed how any news story or event immediately attracts all sort of negative, racist, sarcastic comments.

It doesn't say much about Thailand, but it sure suggests that there are a lot of sad people with poor self-image issues who can only feel good by degrading everyone and everything in Thailand.

The same people are full of righteous indignation that anyone in Thailand acts negatively toward farang and apparently are unable to see the connection.

While many of the forums seem to foster a positive attitude to life in Thailand for the expat, the ones to do with news items and with visa issues seem to be populated by really negative people who reduce everything to false racial or cultural stereotypes. It's hard to imagine what purpose TV thinks they are serving by encouraging all the malcontents to express themselves this way. If you were to say anything equally unpleasant about the British, Germans or Americans, you can be sure you'd see the message would be edited and you'd receive a rap on the knuckles.

[peridot]

Anyone got maps or directions to the celebrations for the geographically challenged amongst us? The only Aree Sampan I can find is nowhere near water...

http://www.yellow.co.th/Bangkok/BangkokMap...Soi+Ari+Samphan

South from Ari skytrain station on Pahon Yothin Road, turn right on Pahon Yothin Soi 5, then left on Ari Soi 1 to Soi Ari Samphan.

Thanks for the great map. There is still no indication of any river.

No river, I didn't even see a pond. Just booths and rides for the kiddies.