Yee Peng Festival

     Often referred to the festival of lights. The Yee Peng festival is the most mesmerising festival in northern Thailand. It occurs in the twelfth month of the lunar calendar and coincides with another festival celebrated by the rest of the country, called Loi Krathong.

     While most of Thailand celebrates with floating lights on lakes and rivers, northern Thailand celebrates the Yee Peng festival by releasing these lanterns into the sky as they pray for their wishes to come true. 

     Thai people believe that if your lantern disappears from your sight before the fire goes out, your bad luck and misfortune floats away from you into the air. Sharing good fortune is also an important part of this festival as sometimes people place their money in the lantern and anyone who finds it (after it’s landed somewhere) can have that money from the sender. This is also the good trick from Thai people in the past to keep the land clean after this night because kids and villagers around the area will be enjoy searching and collecting lanterns after it’s landed.

• You can get one of this lantern around the area that they have the festival or ask from your hotel staffs.
• Price of the lanterns are depending on the size but choosing the medium large or large size is the best, they fly better and easier to light up.
  

• Price range is around 100-400 THB per lantern.
  
  
• You can share the lantern with your friends or partners.
  
  
• If it is your first time with the lantern, better observe how Thai people handle them before you buy one.
  
  
• Enjoy the night and the beautiful lightened sky and don’t need to worry about the airplanes, the sky will be closed during this time for safety reason.
  
  

Photo by: John Shedrick