These innovative floating wish lanterns create an ambient lighting effect and can be used on water or alternatively on any floor. Each lantern needs to be assembled by the customer - very simply done - and then can be left to float for the night. The design is modern but the tradition dates back hundreds of year from the Loy Krathong festival which takes place annually in Thailand. Legends and myths abound as to the origins of Loy (floating) Krathong in Thailand.
In the ancient kingdom of Sukhothai some 700 years ago in the royal court there was a lady with great artistic skills named Naang Noparmart. She loved to make little lotus-shaped Krathong with banana leaves and float them on the water with a candle, incense, and other decorations as homage to the Buddha. Even this legend mentions that the local people already celebrated a lantern festival by floating decorated lanterns on the river. When the king came to judge the best lanterns, he awarded Naang Noparmart the first prize. He further decreed that once a year, on the night of the full moon, a Buddhist holiday should be celebrated by floating lotus-shaped banana leaf boats.
Check out this amazing video of lanterns floating into the night sky! It's an annual festival in Thailand. People believe the lanterns carry away their troubles. They are made of all natural material. The flame creates heat that makes them float.Video: LiveLeakTags: Lantern Festival | Lantern | Festival | Yi PengLabels: Video
The Loi Krathong or Floating Lanterns Festival takes place on the night of the full moon in the 12th lunar month, which is usually in November. A a“Krathong ” is a little ship, made from banana leaves, and >“Loy=” is w“to floatf”. So t“Loy Krathongd” means “to float little ships made from banana leavese”. And, during the evening of the festival, people all over Thailand do just that! They light candles and joss-sticks (incense), put them in their ships, and launch their Krathongs on a nearby river. They believe the little boats carry all their bad luck away. The ships themselves are an offering to the water goddess.
