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Published: November 18th 2008
Happy Loy Krathong! It was really neat to be a part of this beautiful, colorful celebration, despite the fact that I came out with a battle wound.
"Loy" means to float and "krathongs" are the little lotus-shaped floats that are made out of banana leaves. They are decorated with flowers (orchids, jasmine, etc.), a candle, three small incense sticks, and sometimes coins. They are not only beautiful, but also a lot of fun to make! Loy Krathong is celebrated on the full moon in November, as the rainy season is officially coming to an end. The ceremony has Hindu origins and was originally begun to thank the goddess of the water. Nowadays people make wishes and prayers for the year to come and leave their past transgressions to float away on the krathongs, which are placed in the ocean, river, or even a lake if that is the body of water that is accessible.
We had school yesterday, despite the holiday, but the better part of the morning was spent making krathongs. The primary students all brought in supplies to make one or two krathongs and they spread out in the hall of the third floor while the teachers
helped. The first step is to take a 3-inch chunk of banana tree trunk and cover it on all sides with banana leaf. The pieces of banana leaf are held to the trunk using small pins. Next, more strips of banana leaf are folded and shaped into the petals of the lotus. After all of the "petals" are pinned on, it is time to get creative with the arrangement of flowers. The final step (usually) is to place the candle and incense in the center. The students worked really diligently and intently for a really long time--they were so engaged! They all turned out nicely, I thought, even the ones that were done by the less meticulous children. The interesting part is that they are so modest that if you asked if they thought theirs turned out beautifully, they would shake their heads "no" and lower their eyes.
After observing for a while, Teacher Rick and I worked with Spice and Porsche (the one-on-one tutored students) to make their krathongs. So although I didnt make my own to take home, I still got hands-on experience!
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Erin
non-member comment
cool names
I especially like the kids' names...Grape, Spice and Porsche...very creative!