A million lanterns

This weekend was the Loy Krathong festival. It's a Buddhist festival that pays respect to Buddha and the water. To be honest, I'm actually having quite a hard time figuring out what it means beyond that. I know that loy means to float and krathongs are little lantern floats (for the water) made of flowers, banana leaves and more recently bread or styrofoam. In Chiang Mai, and throughout northern Thailand, the festival is more specifically Yi Peng Loy Krathong - which refers to the lanterns released into the sky. From what I understand, the symbolism of letting a candle float down the river or releasing the lit lantern into the sky is about letting go of anger, resentment and ill will - a Day of Atonement, if you will. I have to say though, it's the most fun way to atone that I've ever experienced!

On Saturday evening, Jessie, Rachel and I were invited to the house of one of the missionaries at Julia's NGO for dinner. It was so nice to be in a home and eat Tex-Mex with an American family! After dinner we, about fifteen adults and children, piled into a songthaew and set out for Mae Jo University, where there is a well-known Buddhist meditation center that hosts a Loy Krathong celebration every year. The traffic getting up there was insane. We ended up parking a while down the road and walking. As we were carefully maneuvering our way onto the campus, we could see hundreds of lanterns floating up in the distance and fireworks were all around (more about that later).

We reached a field with thousands of people - families, friends, students, a few tourists - all toting folded up white lanterns, cameras and listening to the monks chant prayers in Sanskrit over a loudspeaker. I could barely see where the monks were, the stage looked like a sun setting on the horizon - a semicircle in soft orange lighting, far in the distance. Being as tall as I am, especially in this country, I was able to stand on my tip toes and take some pictures. We had no idea what was being said, but we followed the crowd, kneeling when appropriate and after several minutes on our knees, we saw red smoke in the distance. We watched as hundreds of torches, three feet off of the ground, lit up from front to back. I could feel the excitement and anticipation in the crowd because everyone knew what was about to happen. Suddently everyone stood and people began unfolding and lighting their lanterns - about four or five people to a lantern, one lantern over each torch. Some more prayers were chanted as the big white lanterns were lit. When lit, they become glowing white pillars, about five feet tall and three feet wide. I could no longer see over the lanterns and actually become quite claustrophobic because hundreds of bright white lanterns were looming over me, blocking my view of the sky.

Off to the right, a loud firework shot up into the sky and as it exploded, everyone cheered and released their lanterns. I cannot find the words to explain how spectacular the sight was - thousands of lanterns floating up into the sky. The cheers from the crowd were those of absolute delight and awe. I took a video, which I hope I can figure out how to post here, because I think it actually captures the whole experience quite well, firework and all. It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.

The rest of the evening was a continuous stream of lanterns being released, fireworks exploding and general celebration. Back in Chiang Mai, the bank of the Ping River was crowded with food stalls, clothing markets and people selling fireworks and lanterns. The fireworks were absolutely out of control and after this weekend, I am even more happy they are illegal in the US. When they are not, people act stupid. Kids and tourists were shooting off fireworks in every direction, with seemingly no regard for the fact that there were millions of people out and about. I saw people throw sparklers and fountain-like fireworks into the middle of busy streets and watched as motorbikes and tuk tuks swerved to avoid being hit. It was insane. I must admit, some of them are quite pretty. It was nearly impossible to sleep that night because the city was filled with loud booms and pops of fireworks all night. When I woke up on Sunday morning, the air was hazy and foggy from the previous night.

I'm sure some of you heard what happened in Cambodia during their water festival this weekend. What a tragedy. For those of you who didn't, there was a stampede on a bridge where people were gathered to watch the river floats and fireworks and over 350 people were killed. It seems to be a total accident - one of those scenes that just gets out of control with too many people in panic mode. I know everyone is very shaken up about it here and I can only imagine what it's like in Phnom Pen. It's very tragic that such a joyous celebration ended so awfully and it makes me wonder what new meanings that festival is going to take on for Cambodians in years to come.

Aside from the festivities, good and bad, I'm doing quite well over here. I want to wish everyone at home a Happy Thanksgiving! Eat a slice of pumpkin pie for me!