Loy Krathong, which means “festival of lights”, is a famous festival annually celebrated in Thailand. It takes place on the evening of the full moon of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar. As a festival with a long history, Loy Krathong is one of the most meaningful and beautiful festivals in Thailand.
This year, the Loy Krathong fell on 19th November. Under the theme “Tie Our Two Hearts with Tides”, the celebration event was held in Suzhou by the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Shanghai, aiming at energizing Suzhou-Thailand connectivity and revitalizing the tourism industry. The theme is specially designed to rhyme in Thai, Chinese and English, which indicates that the flowing water under the full moon ties the friendly relationship between people of two countries closer.
Consul General Lada Phumas hosted the event and delivered a speech at the beginning. She introduced the history and tradition of Loy Krathong, and also the latest entry policies of Thailand. She sent good wishes and hoped that more and more Chinese people could visit Thailand after the pandemic and the tourism exchanges between two countries could recover as soon as possible.
On behalf of Suzhou Foreign Affairs Office, Deputy Director Li Wenhui participated in this event. In his speech, Li Wenhui appreciated the Royal Thai Consulate-General in Shanghai for choosing Suzhou to celebrate Loy Krathong. For years, Suzhou has paid good attention to the cooperation with Thailand. On this occasion, Li Wenhui wished the cooperation and exchanges between two sides could achieve more fruitful results in the future.
After the speeches, Lada Phumas introduced how to make the Krathong, a lotus-like lantern which symbolizes wisdom, well-being, reverence and brightness in Thailand, with banana leaves, flowers, line incense and candles. During her vivid demonstration, staff from the consulate distributed pre-made Krathong to the guests in the event and invited them to join the traditional Thai circle dance. Along with the lovely Thai music, all people danced with joy and then walked to the river bank to float the Krathong and make their best wishes for the future.
