ANAHOLA — The public is invited to the Loi Krathong festival Saturday evening at Smith’s Tropical Paradise in Wailua. Risa Clemmons, organizer of the event, said there will be no admission but donations will be gladly accepted at the gate.
ANAHOLA — The public is invited to the Loi Krathong festival Saturday evening at Smith’s Tropical Paradise in Wailua.
Risa Clemmons, organizer of the event, said there will be no admission but donations will be gladly accepted at the gate.
“The evening starts with a parade at 6 p.m. followed by dinner of Thai food,” said Risa, whose origins trace back to Thailand. “Following dinner, there will be an evening of Thai dances and entertainment.”
Bob Clemmons, Risa’s husband, said he will be playing the Thai guitar, or pin, a three-stringed instrument which he says has to be tuned for each performance.
“It’s got to be tuned for each number,” Bob said. “So I told the girls I would do just one number.”
Risa said on the full moon night of the 12th lunar month, usually in mid-November, the tide in the rivers is the highest and the moon is at its brightest, creating a romantic setting for lovers.
This is the setting the Thai choose to hold the Loi Krathong festival, or the festival of light.
Loi Krathong is one of the Thai kingdom’s oldest and best preserved traditions, the Kaua‘i celebration starting four years ago when about a hundred people attended.
Risa said she believes there are about a hundred Thai people living on Kaua‘i today, and the Thai community extends an invitation to other people who want to learn more about Thai customs and traditions as well as those who have an appreciation for Thai food and culture.
Loi Krathong is probably the most picturesque and beautiful of all Thai celebrations, she said. Loi literally means “to host” while Krathong refers to the lotus-shaped receptacle which can float on the water. Originally, the Krathong was made of banana leaves or the layers of the trunk of a banana tree or a spider lily plant.
The Krathong contains food, betel nuts, flowers, joss sticks, candles and coins and on Loi Krathong, thousands of people will gather beside the canals and rivers with Krathong in hand.
They light the candle, put some coins in the Krathong and carefully place them in the water, releasing them to the current.
The Loi Krathong ritual is a relatively simple one, states the Thailand.com website. People silently make a wish, release their Krathongs in the water and watch intently as the float drifts silently downstream, hoping the candle will not go out.
The candle flame is said to signify longevity, fulfillment of wishes and release from sin, states the website.
Different legends surround the origins of Loi Krathong, the most popular version being the ritual is an expression of gratitude to the goddess of water, “Phra Mae Kongka,” for having extensively used, and sometimes polluting, the water from the rivers and canals.
An extension of that version is a thanksgiving for her bounty in providing water for the livelihood of the people.
Visit www.thailand.com or call Risa at 652-0236 for more information on the Wailua event.
