Thailand celebrates Yi Peng, its very own festival of lights

Yi Peng or Yee Peng (as it’s locally known) is part of the festival of lights celebration in Northern Thailand to pay homage to lord Buddha. (Reuters)

Updated on: Nov 16, 2016 1:23 AM IST

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Yi Peng or Yee Peng (as it’s locally known) is part of the festival of lights celebration in Northern Thailand to pay homage to lord Buddha. (Reuters)

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Organised in Chiang Mai, this year the festival was observed from November 13 to 15. The biggest lantern release is usually held behind Chiang Mai’s Mae Jo University, at the Lanna Dhutanka grounds. (Reuters)

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The main event — releasing sky lanterns and floating krathongs — called Loy Krathong/Yi Peng night was held on November 14. Thousands of colourful lanterns are displayed at various historic centres of Chiang Mai’s Old Town district. (Reuters)

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Adapted from Brahmin origins, Yi Peng was originally celebrated to mark the end of the rainy season and the start of winter. (Reuters)

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Making lanterns and donating them to temples is considered a noble deed. The light of a lantern is represents the moving away from darkness into a brighter future and is therefore considered significant in the Buddhist culture. (AFP)

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Novice Buddhist monks pray at Chaing Mai’s Wat Phan Tao temple to mark the beginning of the annual Yi Peng festival. (AFP)

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Traditionally, it was only Buddhist monks who could release the lanterns, but now anybody can do it. In the initial years, the temple gardens of Wat Phan Tao arranged a religious ceremony on the Yi Peng night. (Reuters)

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A month after the death of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, restrictions on the festivities and celebrations have begun to ease as authorities local try to balance national mourning with the need to capitalise on the current tourist season. (AFP)

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The three days of the festival are filled with religious events, cultural activities, street parades and the release of sky lanterns, making it one of the most awaited events of the Thai culture. (AFP)