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Water Lantern Festival is the second largest traditional festival in Thailand after Songkran (i.e. Water Festival), and is the most meaningful and mythical festival among Thai folk. India, Myanmar, Vietnam and other countries also have folk customs of river lanterns, floating water lanterns.
The Water Lantern Festival is held on the day of the full moon on December 15 of the Thai calendar (November in the Gregorian calendar) and the day after. At this time, the rainy season is over, the river is high, and the full moon is clear. According to the Thai tradition, Thai people put their handmade water lanterns into the river on the day of the festival in order to send their wishes and blessings.
Thai water lanterns are all handmade and come in a variety of shapes, but the most common is the lotus lantern, as the national flower of Thailand is the lotus flower. The lotus lanterns are filled with flowers and small colorful paper flags, and candles and incense are lit to express the ritual of Buddha. Today there are also a variety of food made of water lanterns, after the blessing of the fish and shrimp in the water can also be eaten, very environmentally friendly.
Sometimes people also put some other objects in the water lanterns, with different meanings. For example, in the water lantern put some of their own nails, hair, representing the send away of misfortune and bad luck, to welcome a new happy life. There are also several coins placed on the water lanterns to show charity.
On the night of Songkran Festival, people flock to the lakeside, riverside or harbor drains, hold the water lanterns with both hands in front of their foreheads, close their eyes and pray silently before releasing the lanterns into the river.
If the Songkran Festival in April is a wet fiesta for Thais, the Water Lantern Festival in November is the embodiment of Thai tenderness and romance. Countless men and women go on dates on this day, so the Water Lantern Festival has also become the Thai Valentine's Day.
Lovers meet on the banks of the river, hold hands and tell each other their love, put down the boat carrying their love and start praying for their happy future. A candle light shining on the water surface, reflecting the happiness of a pair of young men and women's beautiful shadow.
