Loy Krathong 2011

We've been here almost six years, and this was my first year to go downtown to see this festival. We're not big on getting out and about during the festivals. Face it, there's just not a lot of motivation for us to get out, fight the traffic, find a place to park, do a lot of walking, etc. just to go take pictures. And since we're in a country that's 95% Buddhist you know what most of the festivals are, and they've adopted many other beliefs into their religion including animism and other festivals from nearby countries.
Even though the sky and river are absolutely beautiful during the Loy Krathong festival, it's sad. And for the less than 1% who claim Christianity as their religion it must be even more heart-breaking when so many people are participating in this.
But I'm not surprised by these festivals. I expect the mixture of religious beliefs to have an impact on everyday life. I expect to see temples all over the city, and I expect to see people practicing spirit worship. It doesn't surprise me, but it does motivate me to remain steadfast in what God has called us to do here.
Whenever there's a festival it does give us a good opportunity to engage the people in conversations that have eternal significance. This year for Loy Krathong we had many such opportunities both inside and outside of the classroom. Rusty had one girl in class who adamantly held to the beliefs surrounding this festival, and Rusty simply told her he didn't believe the river had any power to forgive sins. Then another student said, "That's right. Only Jesus Christ can forgive sins." Please pray for these students who have to stand up for their beliefs when the majority don't hold those beliefs and really aren't interested most of the time.
After the neighborhood ESL class, P' Nung was going to take her boys to the river and invited us to come along. Pawn and I left Rusty behind and headed off to the city. It was nice to not have to worry about driving and parking.
People use banana leaves to construct their floating "krathongs." The kids at the schools were also using parts of the banana trees for floating, and others may use specially baked bread so that the krathong is biodegradable. The krathong is then decorated with banana leaves, flowers, a candle, and incense sticks. Usually a coin is put in also as an offering for the river spirits.
Once the candle and incense sticks are lit, it's time to send them off down the river. Some say a "prayer" at the time and then push their krathongs into the stream down the river. It's good luck for the candle to stay burning and for the krathong to successfully float.
Couples can float their krathong together, and if it makes it down the river they'll be together forever. It's thought to be a romantic night.You'll also see people celebrating Yi Peng at this time which involves the sending up of the lanterns. This festival is about making merit, and some people believe as their lantern floats away so do the bad things from their lives.

Sending up a lantern is quite an involved process. I shot this video of the process from start to finish. The video is also good to get a sense of the noise going on. They're constantly popping firecrackers and shooting fireworks. I was thankful no one threw any at me, but there were some boys who had firecrackers on the end of strings near the river. They would twirl them around and then send them out over the river. One boy lost control of his and it flew back where our group was standing. Everyone jumped but smiled and went on. :)
It's always an interesting time for us as well because you can ask different people what the festival means and what they believe about it, and you'll get different answers. Some we talked to don't really believe in any spiritual aspect of floating the krathongs in the river yet they faithfully do it. And they offer up wishes just in case. Others still hold to the traditional beliefs, and others do it just because it's pretty.
Please continue to pray for us and the people of SEA!