Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
+9 Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
A Buddhist monk collects waste in a river after the Loy Krathong festival, a tradition of gratitude towards the river deity for its provision of water where people throw floating Krathong, ornate baskets crafted from flowers and banana trunks, in Samut Songkram, Thailand, November 28, 2023. REUTERS/Napat Wesshasartar
Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
Children hold Krathongs, floating baskets made with leaves and flowers, before placing them in a park's lagoon during the Loy Krathong festival, held as a symbolic apology and to express gratitude to the goddess of the river for the water, in Bangkok, Thailand, November 27, 2023. REUTERS/Jorge Silva
Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
Krathongs (floating baskets) made with leaves and flowers, remain in a park lagoon after the Loy Krathong festival, which is held as a symbolic apology and expression of gratitude to the goddess of the river, and to thank for the water in Bangkok, Thailand, November 27, 2023. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
A woman holds a Krathong, a floating baskets made with leaves and flowers, before placing them in a park's lagoon during the Loy Krathong festival, held as a symbolic apology and to express gratitude to the goddess of the river for the water, in Bangkok, Thailand, November 27, 2023. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
Bangkok district workers collect Krathongs (floating baskets) made with leaves and flowers, from a park lagoon after the Loy Krathong festival, which is held as a symbolic apology and expression of gratitude to the goddess of the river, and to thank for the water in Bangkok, Thailand, November 27, 2023. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
Krathongs (floating baskets) made with leaves and flowers, are collected from a park lagoon after the Loy Krathong festival, which is held as a symbolic apology and expression of gratitude to the goddess of the river and to thank for the water in Bangkok, Thailand, November 27, 2023. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
Thais give digital spin to ancient ‘floating basket’ festival
A Bangkok district worker collects Krathongs (floating baskets) made with leaves and flowers, from a park lagoon after the Loy Krathong festival, which is held as a symbolic apology and expression of gratitude to the goddess of the river, and to thank for the water in Bangkok, Thailand, November 27, 2023. REUTERS/Chalinee Thirasupa
BANGKOK—Thai children crafted virtual rafts and sent them floating down digital rivers, in an environmentally friendly version of an ancient festival.
Over the centuries, people have sent krathongs—small, baskets made from plants and loaded with flowers, candles and bamboo—down waterways to make wishes and pay their respects to water spirits.
The beautiful ‘floating basket’ or Loy Krathong festival lights up Bangkok’s canals and rivers at night—but often leaves organizers scrabbling to clear canals clogged up with hundreds of thousands of soggy vessels the next morning.
This year participants did their best to cut down on the clean-up by drawing about 3,000 pictures of krathongs and scanning them into computers during the festivities.
Reducing waste
The designs were then projected onto a colorful representation of the water’s surface.
“It really helps a lot, because it reduces cutting trees. When you float (the real baskets) things fall into the water. This will help reduce waste,” said 11-year-old Jirayada Surapant, showing off her design by a Bangkok canal on Monday evening.
There was still a lot to do on Tuesday morning.
Across the capital, monks set out in row boats to scoop up the physical krathongs and recycle them into animal feed.
“The trash will end up in the sea, at the river mouths, completely filling them,” venerable monk Mathee Vatchara Prachatorn said, perched on the side of a boat.
“To reduce trash, everybody has to pitch in, all the villages have to help.” —REUTERS
Controlling nature