In Chiang Mai, you shouldn’t miss Yi Peng festival, which is one of the most interesting events here. Let’s have new experience with it!

Yi Peng or Yee Peng (local name) is part of the festival of lights in Northern Thailand to show respect to Buddha. It’s date usually coincides with Loi Krathong which all of Thailand celebrates using floating lights on water. In Northern Thailand Yi Peng, which is celebrated alongside Loi Krathong, is different in that lights are placed into sky lanterns which float up into the air.

Yi Peng translated from Lanna is “Yi” meaning “2nd” and “Peng” meaning “month”. Yi Peng is held on the full moon of the 2nd month of the Lanna calendar. Though the exact dates change yearly it’s usually held in mid to late November.

When you take part in  the festival, you will  see lanterns and special parades. Colourful lantern displays are set up at the Three Kings Monument, Thapae Gate and at all of other gates around the moat which encircles the Old Town district of Chiang Mai. Temples and households decorate their front entrances with coconut leaves and flowers. On Yi Peng Day (the night of the full moon for Loy Krathong) lanterns or candles are also lit and placed at entrances to shops, homes and temples. The act of making the lanterns or donating them to temples is one way of making merit and the light of a lantern is significant in Buddhist culture because it represents the moving away from darkness into a brighter future.

There are many types of lanterns for your choice. There are four main styles of lantern; khom kwaen (hanging lantern), khom thuea (carrying lantern) also known sometimes as khom gratai (because it resembles a rabbit’s ear), khom paad (revolving lantern) and khom loy (hot air floating lantern also known as khom fai).

In the festival, the release of lanterns (khom) is a way to pay respect Buddha and also to release bad memories and make a wish for the future. During Yi Peng it was traditionally monks who released the lanterns, but now anybody can do so. On Yi Peng Day (Loy Krathong Day) novice monks at some of the temples will release giant sky lanterns in the morning. These will normally have firecrackers attached to them and if you are staying in Chiang Mai you will be sure to hear these khom fai even if you don’t see them. In the evening, khom loy (floating lanterns) are released all around Chiang Mai province. In the city, the main areas are around the Ping River and at various locations around the moat. Many temples, including Wat Chedi Luang (pictured below), are a wonderful place to enjoy the festivities away from some of the more crowded areas near the river. People release the lanterns from dusk until the early hours of the morning and it is a wonderful sight set against the backdrop of the full moon.

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