Story: Thais

Floating candles, Loy Krathong Festival

Floating candles, Loy Krathong Festival

In November 2004 the annual Loy Krathong Festival was celebrated in Wellington. An important part of the festival is the krathong floating ceremony, when lotus-shaped vessels containing candles are floated to bring good luck for the coming year. ‘Loy’ means to float and the ‘krathong’ is the vessel containing the candle. Other features of the festival were Thai classical dancers, food stalls, Thai boxing, and Thai foot massage.

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Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
Photograph by Melanie Lovell-Smith

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How to cite this page:

Rosa Chhun, 'Thais - Religion and community', Te Ara - the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, http://www.TeAra.govt.nz/en/photograph/1099/floating-candles-loy-krathong-festival (accessed 20 April 2024)

Story by Rosa Chhun, published 8 Feb 2005, updated 25 Mar 2015