The Lantern Festival : Yeepeng Lanna International Festival

Saturday, November 8th.

The rain has past. The day is hot and clear. This is the day we have been waiting for, it is the real reason we are here. Today is the Yeepeng Lanna International. It is the annual Lantern Festival which pays homage to the Lord Buddha and thanks to the water goddess, Khong Kha, for the rains for harvest. Rice takes a lot of water, so once the harvest is through thanks is given to the water goddess. The saying is, No water, No life. This festival takes place at the full moon in November and is an important event which takes place only in Chiang Mai. The regular ceremony, Loy Krathing, takes place throughout Thailand and other Asian areas, releasing small floats or krathongs made of banana leaves into the river. This took place on the 6th. But Yeepeng releases beautiful lanterns called Dhammachai Lanterns into the sky. These lanterns are made of recycled paper on bamboo frame. They are about 90 cm across and contain a large circular wick which is lit from a ground lantern, or a fire pot on a stake in the ground.

First, their is a very holy Buddhist ceremony which is peaceful, tranquil, meditative. It leads us to be in touch with our inner spirit or inner light or beauty, to cleanse the being of negativity. The ceremony of releasing the lanterns is then to release that inner light and beauty outside, to the sky. There is a centre stage on which a group of Buddhist monks, dressed in their orange robes, pay their respect and homage. There is beautiful chanting throughout the ceremony.

Then 3000 people light their lanterns and suddenly they begin to float upward, illuminating the night sky. First a few  lanterns, then more, then hundreds and thousands float upward, a trail of light rising into the darkness. It was a moment of awe.

We have practised all week for this. We are on the ground with our cameras shooting up to the sky.



Lighting the lantern. A circular wick is held over the flame of the ground lantern until it is burning well. You have to be careful to hold the paper of the lantern back out of the fire. As the wick burns the lantern fills with hot air, slowly it fills and begins to float.

Reaching upward toward the sky you slowly let go as the lantern floats upward.

  

 

  Soon the sky in filled with thousands of lights.

 

The crowd disperses. 3000 people hurry back to their buses. We wait, and the payoff is great.  As the grounds empty the monks begin their thanks. They light the remaining lanterns and release them, and we have front row seats.

 

 

 

 

 Slowly we leave. We do not want this to end, the feeling, the awe, the experience.

But, we climb in our van.....           And stop at the nearest 7Eleven for beer. Oh well...