This past Monday night was a holiday here in Thailand called Loy Krathong. "Loy" means to float and "Krathong" is a decorated raft about the size of a hand that is made from a section of a banana tree trunk. During this holiday people float these Krathongs on a river (see picture to the left). The purpose of this is symbolic in that you are letting go of all anger, grudges, and defilements so you can start fresh. People even place their fingernail clippings and hair on the rafts to symbolize getting rid of the bad parts of yourself. Additionally, floating a Krathong is said to bring good luck and it is done to thank the Goddess of Water.
On Monday night Jenn, Pom, and I went down to the river and bought Krathongs. We took a boat up the river to a spot in front of a really old temple where we floated our Krathongs in the water. It was a beautiful festival complete with a parade of decorated barges on the river like the one pictured below.
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