The document discusses traditions of lantern festivals in Thailand, China, and the United States. It describes how the Thai Loi Krathong festival originated as a religious ceremony to thank Buddha and cleanse sins, but now includes beauty pageants and decorating boats with candles and flowers. The Chinese lantern festival celebrates spring and family, with lanterns in shapes and colors, riddles, lion dances, and dumplings. While the Asian festivals had religious origins, the growing lantern festivals in the US focus more on social gathering. All three cultures now approach lantern traditions differently while celebrating the symbol of floating lanterns.

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Erin Stehlik
Professor Dickerson
WRT 150-44
16 April 2015
The Beauty of Lanterns
The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines the word tradition as “a way of thinking,
behaving, or doing something that has been used by the people in a particular group, family,
society, etc., for a long time”. Traditions are important to different cultures and are what makes
each culture unique. Depending on one’s childhood location and surroundings, one will adopt
different traditions from their family and the community that surrounds them. In multiple
countries, such as China and Thailand, the tradition of lighting lanterns started out as a religious
ceremony but has now transformed into a commercial holiday.
In Thailand, a religious festival called the Loi Krathong lantern festival began thousands
of years ago. New Straits Times explains that the tradition began when Nang Noppamas, one of
the Sukhothai King's mistresses, created the first Krathong, which is a lotus-shaped floating
candle, and offered it to the king by floating it down the local river. A few years later, the
Sukhothai King at the time, Phra Ruang, ordered the people he lorded over, and their
descendants for years to come, to float their lotus-shaped Krathongs on the Nam River every
year afterwards in efforts to thank Buddha (Abd Aziz). Thus a tradition for the Thai people was
born.
In the early years of the festival, the people of Thailand traveled to the canals and rivers
to release their Krathong. A Krathong is composed of cut sections of bamboo, with folded pieces
of banana leaves around the edges, giving it an appearance similar to a lotus leaf. Candles,

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flowers, or fruit are placed in the center of the Krathong to make it appear more exquisite. By
releasing the Krathong into the waters, the Thai people believed the water would carry away
their sins as a cleansing ritual (Abd Aziz). In modern day, this may be compared to the Christian
practice of Baptism, where people are washed in water to cleanse their sins. In addition, the
Krathong was used to ask for forgiveness from the goddess of water, Phra Mae Khongkha. The
festival generally falls in November which is monsoon season in Thailand. Due to this, many of
the Thai people pray that floods be calmed or will be prevented (Thailand: Thai People).
Although it was originally a religious tradition, today it has transformed into a commercial
holiday.
Today, the festival has evolved in order to reflect the changing culture. Releasing a
lantern into the air has become another part of the festival, in attempts of making a wish for the
future.
Fig. 1. This image shows the floating lanterns in Thailand. Source: Buriram Times. Untitled. Photograph. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
The Thai people consider releasing a lantern to be good luck because they believe their
misfortune will fly away with the lanterns. Both the Krathong and the floating lanterns are
thought to pay respect to the goddess of water, Phra Mae Khongkha, when released. The festival
is held during the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month and many events unfold during the
night. According to Asia News Monitor, a beauty pageant for children is held every year.

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Children wear tradition dresses and the winner of the pageant is displayed on a floating stage in
the Nan River (Thailand: Thailand Celebrates). Some hotels hold mock beauty pageants, where
female employees dress in traditional clothing, and guests buy roses in support of their favorite
contender (Krite). In order to give the festival a traditional feel, the local people dress in an
ancient clothing and food venders sell traditional Thai foods. These traditions are now a key part
of Thai culture. Chinese culture holds somewhat similar traditions as well.
Not only does Thai culture hold a lantern festival, Chinese does as well. In China, a
lantern festival is held on the 15th day of the first Chinese lunar month. The Chinese tradition
differ from the Thai traditions in many ways. In China however, the lanterns are decorated and
hung up to light entire cities.
Fig. 2. Shown is an image of the Chinese version of lanterns. Source: Bigstock. Untitled. Photograph. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.
They come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Lanterns resembling animals are also common. The
Chinese use their festival as a way to symbolize the coming of spring and celebrate family (Wu).
The festival historically began as a way to thank Buddha, but today has evolved into a way to
enjoy family and no longer has as many religious ties. When lighting the lanterns, it’s common
to say a prayer for your family. If a women hope to become pregnant soon, tradition instructs her
to pray for a child when walking under the hanging lanterns.

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Attaching a riddle to their lanterns is another part of the tradition that the Chinese partake
in. If a passer-by thinks they know the answer then they take the riddle to the owner. If the
passerby is correct, they usually they win a small prize. During the Chinese lantern festival, the
ancient lion dance also takes place. This is when two trained dancers dress in a lion suit and
dance to a drum beat, gongs, and cymbals. One dancer acts as the head and front feet while the
other dancer acts as the body and back feet. Traditionally the lion is a sign for strength and
bravery. It was also thought to ward off evil and pray for safety and good fortune. Eating stuffed
dumplings, otherwise known as Tangyuan, is another important custom. The Tangyuan are
served in a fermented rice soup and is thought to be a way to express your wishes for your family
to receive good fortune (Wu).
Every year, the Chinese and the Thailand festivals attract thousands of tourists. The idea
of releasing a lantern into the sky is so popular that the western world has begun to adopt the
idea. Small scale lantern festivals are beginning to pop up all over America. Americans may
have fallen in love with the idea of the lanterns, but have left all aspects of religious ties in Asia’s
past. American culture loves a reason to be together and that will be found in their launch of
lantern festivals. On Saturday, October 3rd, the first ever lantern festival in Grand Rapids will be
held at the Berlin Raceway. According to thelanternfest.com, the event gates will open at 3pm
and the launching of the lanterns will be held at sundown. A live band will be performing. In
order to gain entrance, spectators must buy a pass. In addition to the pass, spectators are given a
s’mores kit, a lantern, and a pack of crayons to decorate the lantern if so desired (Lantern).
Thelanternfest.com also provides many other locations where the same type of festivals will be
held around America during 2015.

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The Thailand Loi Krathong lantern festival, Grand Rapids lantern festival, and the
Chinese lantern festival all involve the lighting of lanterns in some aspect. They have evolved
over time, and have different fundamental beginnings. Although they all revolve around the
same idea of lanterns, all three festivals prove to be very different from each other. The Thailand
Loi Krathong festival and Chinese festival both began in a highly religious aspect, but have
morphed into a mainly commercial event. This is seen as western cultures across the world add
lantern festivals to their summer and fall festivities, not for their religious aspects, but for the
social draw of the lanterns. This proves how one aspect of a tradition can be used in many
different ways in many different cultures.

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Works Cited
Abd Aziz, Siti H. "`Loi Krathong' Sensation." New Straits Times: 03. Dec 29 2001. ProQuest.
Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
Krite, David. Thai Sunset VIP Members Newsletter. David Krite. 2013. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
Lantern Festival. Lantern Fest, LLC. 2015. Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
"Thailand: Thailand Celebrates Loy Krathong." Asia News Monitor. Nov 22 2010. ProQuest.
Web. 9 Mar. 2015.
"Thailand: Thai People Celebrated another Remarkable Night of Loi Krathong Festival." Asia
News Monitor. Nov 22 2010. ProQuest. Web. 19 Mar. 2015.
Wu, Annie. China Highlights — Discovery Your Way. China Highlights. 2015. Web. 15 Mar.
2015