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Great Lantern of Lanna
The floating festival is not only in Sukothai or Chiang mai as it has been in the past as the culture, but they are celebrating the activities in all provinces to suit the culture of each individual.
It has been a long tradition floating festival on full moon of the 12th month lunar calendar. The believe to worship the Water-Goddess or to float bad luck and misfortunate to the water.
Thai has the tradition celebrating the festival in all provinces. The famous floating the fire work at Sukothai and Tak. Yee-peng of northern parts in difference styles. On the ground, on the water, and sending the floating lantern into the sky.
Yee-peng is the long tradition of northern part on the 12th month of lunar calendar, it falls on the end of the rainy season and the beginning of the cold season. People believe in sending the lanterns into the sky to worship the heaven or sending the bad luck away.
 
Yee-peng in term of culture, people would go to the temples for religious ceremony. They would decorated the temples with lights, banana trees, coconut trees, prepared many kinds of food. Some temples are famous in cooking the rice in milk named Matupayad for Budda in the early morning of the full moon day. Giving food to the monks in the early morning, listening to the teaching Dhamma .Flying the hot lantern, lighting the lights at night.
The word “kome-loy” means the lighted lantern, which can be
in the water and in the sky. Usually in the floating
festival known as “Tao Srichulaluk” or “Nopamas”.was done on
the 12th full moon month by celebrating for 3
nights. Nopamas created the floating the lantern in the
shape of lotus, the size of the wheel of the cart. Inside
the lotus contained flowers and fruits. The king “Phra Lung”
was pleased and made the ceremony official every year.
Some of them believe that the original
ceremony was performed to worship the 3 gods,
Isuan, Narai, and Phom in Hinduism. In
Buddhism, it is known as worship the Buddha
In the Royal 12 ceremony, stated that Tao
Srichulaluk the Royal Consort of Pra Lung
of Sikothai created the ceremony for the
king by floating the lighted lantern into
the river.
During the time of king Rama IV, there was
competition in ceremony and the official
ceremony used the royal boat Ananta-nakaraj
as the main floating ceremony. King RamaV
used Supan-nahong as the main boat in the
ceremony
In conclusion, the ceremony was performed
since the time of Ayuthaya dynasty. It was
not the ceremony in Hinduism or Buddhism,
but the idea during the time of King Rama IV
was ceremony to pay homage to Lord Buddha.
Floating lighted lantern to the sky known as
“kome-loy”by using hot air or gas to float
the lantern into the sky. It started during
the time of King RamaV, which was difference
than floating into the water during the time
of Ayuthaya.
In the north, Lanna people sent hot air
lantern into the sky as the ceremony to
worship Lord Buddha. Originally it was the
ceremony to worship the 3 gods in Hinduism.
But when the king was the Buddhist, the
ceremony changed to ceremony in Buddhism.
People in northern part believe in sending
the lighted floating lantern into the sky to
worship Lord Buddha than the central area
sending the floating lantern into the river.
The northern festival is similar to the
festival called “fire candle festival “of
Sukhothai period.
In Lanna, the floating festival started by
Chao Dararasme, the King RamaV consort in
B.E. 2429 (1888) when she was 13 years from
Chiang Mai, and she stayed in the royal
palace until the death of the king in B.E.
2453 (1910) During her staying in the palace,
she learned all the royal culture in
Bangkok. Chao Dararasme was the one to
introduce the floating lantern into the
river. During the year 2460-2470 (1917-1927)
the floating “krathong” is called
“Phraprateep” or the royal floating lantern
into Ping river of Chiang Mai.
Chao Dara used natural materials in making
krathhong by using the coconut palm, cut
into shape to float in the river and float
it in the Ping river on the 12th
full moon month of the year.
Later years, people started to followed the
floating krathong of the Royal Consort . In
2490 (1947) Mr. Tim Chotana was the mayor of
Chiang Mai promoted the tourism in the city.
There was the festival at Tha-pae, and the
floating krathong of Bangkok started
officially.
The office of Tourism Authority of Thailand
started in Chiang Mai in 2512 (1969) the
beginning of the ceremony 2 days floating
festival. The first day is floating the
small krathong on the full moon, the
following night is floating the big krathong
from Municipal Hall of Chiang Mai to Nowarat
Bridge. From that point on, it became the
tradition of the city, adding to the
competition of Miss Nopamas and her
celebration, decoration of many places and
streets with fancy light, decorated the sky
of the city with floating lighted lanterns
making Chiang Mai main Lanna city of
Thailand. |
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