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Yipeng Lanterns
(A Lanna Tradition)

Besides being a famous festival in its own right, the Yipeng festival or Loy Kratong is a yearly highlight for tourists to Chiang Mai at the beginning of the cold season.

One of the most important symbols of Loy Kratong is the Yipeng Lantern, a lamp made of paper. In the past Lanna people used this type of lantern because gas was very difficult to find. The traditional lantern also plays an important role in Lanna people's lives and beliefs and during various religious ceremonies, villagers make lanterns as offerings to monks. There is an old belief that if people hang lanterns on the eaves of their houses to worship the king of heaven, it will prevent the household from being unhappy and out of danger.

Why do Lanna people make lanterns and how are they important to Lanna people?

Lanna people believe that in making lanterns to pay respects to the Buddha, they are up-grading their next lives, so they can be born into a rich family, have a beautiful body, be wealthy etc. It also brings prosperity to the lantern's creator.

Villagers of rural Thailand also maintain the festival to pay respects to the River Goddess, since their lives are dependent on the river, using it for drinking, washing, making a living, and also disposing of refuse as they do. Therefore, they pay their annual respects and show gratitude to the river by floating a kratong along it, normally with a candle, incense sticks and flowers inside.

The unique aspect of the festival in Chiang Mai is that the local people will also float lanterns into the sky, the Yipeng Lantern being a unique masterpiece of the north. The lanterns are made of sa paper or colorful cellophane glued onto a bamboo frame of rectangular or cylindrical shape, and hot air or gas is let in at the bottom to lift the lantern into the sky. Fire crackers are sometimes attached to the lantern, releasing a cracking explosion when the lantern floats aloft. Sa lanterns contain a small fire lighted inside, and during the Yipeng night a large number will appear in the sky.

Another kind of lantern is a smaller version made of cellophane glued to a bamboo frame with lighted candles inside, hung around temples and houses. For the local tradition of making a jungle gate, certain gates are decorated with twigs, leaves or coconut branches, on which such lanterns are hung.

The Yipeng Festival is no longer celebrated only by local people. All tourists, of whatever nationality, are welcome to join in this sacred ceremony and joyful festival. Yipeng is not just about lanterns and kratongs; beauty contests, traditional performances, parades and more are offered to and by everyone all over Chiang Mai City.