Loy Krathong 2026: Meaning, Song & Thai Phrases

Loy Krathong 2026 falls on Tuesday 24 November, the full moon of the twelfth Thai lunar month. After dark, people all over Thailand float small decorated rafts called krathongs on rivers, canals and ponds to thank the water goddess and let their bad luck drift away. In Chiang Mai the same full moon is Yi Peng, the lantern festival (23-25 November 2026).

What "Loy Krathong" means

ลอยlawy means "to float", and a กระทงgrà-tong is a small float: traditionally a slice of banana trunk wrapped in folded banana leaves (ใบตองbai-dtawng) and decorated with flowers, a candle and three incense sticks. So ลอยกระทงlawy grà-tong is both the name of the festival and what you do on the night. You'll also see it spelled Loi Kratong; "loy" rhymes with "boy".

The date comes from the moon: วันเพ็ญเดือนสิบสองwan-pen duean sìp-sǎwng, the full-moon day of the twelfth month. That's why it moves around November: 5 November in 2025, 24 November in 2026, 13 November in 2027. It isn't a public holiday; the celebrations start at dusk.

The story behind it

Loy Krathong honours พระแม่คงคาprá mâe kong-kaa, the goddess of water (her name comes from the Ganges). You thank her for the water that feeds the rice fields and ask her forgiveness for using and polluting it all year. Many people also see the krathong as a way to let go: they add a coin, a strand of hair or a fingernail clipping so their bad luck floats away with it.

Legend says the first lotus-shaped krathong was made by Nang Noppamas (นางนพมาศnaang nóp-pá-mâat), a lady of the royal court of Sukhothai some 700 years ago. Historians think her story was written much later, in the early Bangkok period, but temple fairs still crown a "Nang Noppamas" every year, and Sukhothai Historical Park holds one of the loveliest celebrations in the country.

How to float a krathong

1. Buy a krathong from a street stall on the day, or make one at a workshop.
2. Go to the water after dark: a river, a canal, a lake or a pond in a public park.
3. Light the candle and the incense sticks.
4. Hold the krathong, close your eyes and make a wish (อธิษฐานà-tít-tǎan): for health, for love, or simply to say sorry to the water.
5. Lower it gently onto the water. Don't throw it.

Couples float a krathong together, and if two krathongs drift side by side, the love will last. Riverside piers get crowded, so step carefully.

Yi Peng in Chiang Mai

ยี่เป็งyîi-bpeng means "full moon of the second month": the Lanna calendar of northern Thailand counts its months two ahead of central Thailand, so its second month is the central twelfth. In Chiang Mai the two festivals become one long celebration: Lanna paper lanterns hang over the lanes of the Old City, temples and the old city walls glow with small clay oil lamps (ผางประทีปpǎang bprà-tîip), and krathongs drift down the Ping River.

For 2026, Chiang Mai municipality runs its Yi Peng festival from 23 to 25 November. This year the main stage moves from Tha Phae Gate to the park at Ton Lamyai market, and the grand krathong parade, a contest for a royal trophy, sets off from Tha Phae Gate on the evening of 25 November.

Can tourists release sky lanterns?

The famous photos of thousands of โคมลอยkoom-lawy (sky lanterns) rising at once come from ticketed events held outside the city, such as the CAD Khomloy festival in Mae On on 24 and 25 November 2026. Book early, and only through the official site or a major platform.

In the city itself, don't light one. Lanterns are a fire risk and a danger to planes: in 2024 and 2025 the province made the whole city district a no-release zone, and elsewhere you need a permit from the district office. Breaking the rules can mean up to five years in prison or a 200,000-baht fine. Chiang Mai airport also cancels or reschedules flights on the festival nights, so check your booking if you fly that week. The province announces each year's rules in October.

Loy Krathong or Yi Peng?

Loy Krathong is the national festival of floating krathongs on the water; Yi Peng is the northern festival of lanterns and lamps. They share the same full moon, and in Chiang Mai you get both.

The Loy Krathong song

One cheerful song plays at every temple fair: the Loy Krathong ramwong by the Suntaraporn band, written around 1950. It opens with วันเพ็ญเดือนสิบสอง น้ำก็นองเต็มตลิ่งwan-pen duean sìp-sǎwng náam gâw nawng dtem dtà-lìng, "on the full moon of the twelfth month, the water fills the riverbanks", and the chorus is simply ลอย ลอยกระทงlawy lawy grà-tong. Learn its key lines in the Songs section.

Thai phrases for the night

• ไปลอยกระทงกันไหมbpai lawy grà-tong gan mǎi Shall we go and float krathongs?
• กระทงนี้เท่าไหร่grà-tong níi tâo-rài How much is this krathong?
• สวยมากsǔay mâak It's so beautiful!
• สุขสันต์วันลอยกระทงsùk-sǎn wan lawy grà-tong Happy Loy Krathong!

Practise them with audio below; Unit 24 of the free course is set on Loy Krathong night.

Eco-friendly krathongs

The morning after, city workers fish hundreds of thousands of krathongs out of Bangkok's rivers and canals. Choose one made of banana trunk and leaves, and skip foam completely. Bread krathongs are sold as fish food, but in large numbers they foul the water too. The kindest choice, and the one Thai campaigns now promote, is one krathong per couple or family.