On the third day of the itinerary, we came to Tak Province, Thailand. It is the second largest city in northern Thailand after Chiang Mai. The annual Loi Krathong (Loi Krathong) is held here. Tak Province will mobilize all villages to make water lanterns, and Water lantern parade, water lantern release, fireworks display, etc. First of all, let everyone take a look at the process of making water lanterns! (Very surprised by their craftsmanship and sophistication!)
◎ The origin of the Loi Krathong (Loi Krathong) allows the blessing mind to drift on the water with the light of the lights and candles.
In Thailand, Loy Krathong and Songkran are two major local festivals, and the Loy Krathong festival is held on December 12th of the Buddhist calendar every year. Usually the lanterns are made of banana leaves folded into a boat, and a banana leaf stem or The bread stick is fixed, the boat is filled with flowers, a candle, three incense sticks and traditional small coins, and then put the blessing water lantern in the hand into the river, praying for a better life.The Thai "Loi" means floating or floating, which can be floating on the water or floating in the sky, and "Krathong" refers to this small boat-like light, which means water lanterns when combined. (Information provided by: Tourism Authority of Thailand)
◎ One of the key points of the visit is "Large Water Lanterns"
The Loy Krathong celebrations are also somewhat different. "Large water lanterns" are mainly placed on floats during the parade that day. They will parade in the streets of the city for people to watch. There will be competitions in various villages. Of course, everyone is concerned about their own The design efforts are also kept secret, and it is not easy to get the opportunity to visit.According to my on-site visual inspection, the height of this large water lamp is about 200 cm, and the base is about 150 cm. It is very huge!The base is covered with slices of banana leaves, producing beautiful textures one after another, and the prominent decorations are woven by masters, and thin nails are used to nail them everywhere.
The design elements of the large water lantern include the dragon body and the phoenix tail monster, the cascading small lighthouse, the gourd body main lighthouse, and the materials used are all natural flowers and plants. Due to the hot weather, in order to keep these materials fresh and green In addition to having to be placed in the factory and not exposed to the sun, it must be sprayed with a water sprayer every hour. There are drops of water on the base in the photo.Ready to introduce the architecture of the big water lamp!
※ Base
※ Side lamp holder
※ Upper lamp holder
※ Approximately 80% finished product
▲ Finally, these beautiful big water lanterns will be placed on the floats, and we will go to the parade at night!
◎ The second highlight of the visit is "Coconut Shell Water Lamp"
Takfu, a small town located on the Ping River/Ping River, celebrates this wonderful moment in a unique and elegant way. The locals don’t use banana leaves to make water lanterns, but use coconut shells to make unique water lanterns. Fill the coconut shell with wax and candles, string the water lanterns into the water, which is called Loi Krathong Sai locally.Participating in the Loy Krathong activities is not only a celebration, plus the large-scale water lantern competition just mentioned earlier, it also represents the unity of the local area. This unique creativity made us exclaim again and again when we visited.
The masters filled the coconut husks with yellow wax oil and blue wicks, and placed them on the shelf to wait to air dry.Next, corn leaves and corn whiskers will be used to make the appearance of the lamp holder. From the beginning of weaving wings and sticking glitter to it, it will become a tail, embellished with rhinestone eyes and wings, and it will become a beautiful peacock water. light.Asked why the tour guide used the peacock shape as the inspiration for the design of the small water lantern. He said that it is possible that the Buddha once transformed into a peacock, and the peacock was a symbol of the noble royal family of Thailand, so the design of such a delicate and labor-intensive water lantern.
The Loy Krathong Festival in Tak Province, Thailand will hold a water lantern making competition in various villages. During the visit, the tour guide is asked to ask if there is any reward if the competition is won?Seeing that about 25 of them were working hard in the factory, it was inevitable to wonder what kind of kinetic energy drove everyone to make these water lanterns with great care.In the end they said that there was only a small bonus, but the honor/award is more important!After listening, I admire the masters even more.
There will be such activities every year in Tak Province. If you are interested, you may need to take Bangkok Airways to Sukhothai first. Sukhothai Airport is now the exclusive location of this airline, so AirAsia or Thai Airways do not fly here. Then take a minibus to go there.
※ Make the appearance of the water lamp
▲ The master is making peacock wings.
▲ Use a lot of glitter and sequins as decoration.
▲ After one piece is gathered up, it becomes a peacock.
▲ I really like this way of celebrating, and it is made of natural materials.
▲ These masters are responsible for the completion of the last wave.
▲ Finished product!Are these water lanterns very beautiful? ^____^
After watching the water lantern making method, follow our footsteps Takfu, Thailand│ The second part of the Loy Krathong Trilogy-Parade and water lanterns.
