Every year in November the Lantern Festival takes place in Chiang Mai, in northern Thailand. Whoever sees the photos of those thousands of paper balloons going up to the sky, immediately want to live that up close. That’s exactly what happened to me. So I organized everything and went to check out the famous Thai festival.
The date of the event changes every year according to the full moon, but it is always during the month of November. This year it happened on November 22. It is said that the festival started in India and later came to Thailand, as well as other countries such as Laos and Myanmar.
The most famous festival today is that of the city of Chiang Mai. Actually the Lantern Festival, which is the Yi Peng, coincides with the Loy Krathong which is the offering of baskets made of leaves, adorned with flowers, candles and incense that are placed to float in the river during the festival. So imagine how beautiful the party is. The streets dress up as a party. Temples and houses are decorated with flowers and paper lanterns. The city stops. Even the airport closes to avoid problems. In the late afternoon, many downtown streets are closed to cars and they receive thousands of people who throw paper lanterns into the air and place their offerings in the rivers.
According to Buddhist belief, casting the lanterns brings good luck, especially if it disappears from view in the dark sky. Many people place a wish and pray before releasing the balloon in the air so that their wish is met.
Know that the city fills with visitors, if you want to attend a Lantern Festival, organize yourself well in advance. Ideally, book a hotel in a central point of Chiang Mai to walk during the event. I suggest the Shangri-La Chiang Mai or the Anantara Chiang Mai. Two incredible hotels for you to experience this beautiful festival.
This is one of those moments of unforgettable energy. I totally recommend it!
XoXo and until next Tuesday.
