The story
Sukhothai Loy Krathong in Sukhothai
Loy Krathong in Sukhothai takes place at the Sukhothai Historical Park, the ruined 13th-century capital where Thai tradition credits the festival's origin to a royal consort named Nang Noppamas. On the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, usually November, visitors float candle-lit krathong on the park's ponds against a backdrop of illuminated ancient temple ruins.
Loy Krathong takes its name from the act at its center: loy means to float, and a krathong is a small decorated vessel, traditionally cut from a slice of banana-tree trunk and folded banana leaves, adorned with flowers, incense sticks and a candle.