This year's Loy Krathong celebration in our home was remarkable! Instead of going to the lake every year, where the Krathongs would disturb the aquatic environment, we decided to bring the festival closer to home and more environmentally friendly!
The celebration began one day before the festival. Our grown-ups chopped down banana trees from our garden and brought them to the children, who turned the trunks and leaves into lovely Krathongs for school.
Our kids also used leftover banana stems creatively to make toy horses and odd designs!
Some staff members crafted gorgeous Krathongs for our nursery kids the following day out of bamboo, flowers, and banana leaves.
After school, the students demonstrated their creativity, with one using papaya as a base for their design! Every Krathong was unique and full of personality.
To make things more lively, we arranged a Krathong competition. The judges had difficulty selecting the winners, but Mook, Rita, and Rungnapa were awarded prizes for their most magnificent, detailed, and environmentally responsible works.
As the sun sank, the magic began. By 7 p.m., everyone—children, teens, and adults—had gathered for a candlelight walk to our meditation center. They carried their Krathongs and sang Baba Nam Kevalam, a mantra that means "Love is all there is." The meditation center, lit by candles arranged in a star form, was magnificent.
Following meditation, everyone congregated around a specially constructed water tank. This is a special place where all our water goes before being sent to the different facilities of Baanunrak. Before releasing their Krathongs, they took a quiet moment to be grateful, and to ask for forgiveness to the water. The sight of the wonderfully light Krathongs floating in the basin was fascinating.
But the night hadn't ended yet! To conclude the celebration, we released six lanterns into the night sky, one for each point of the bright star. The children's faces lit up as the lanterns rose higher, sending their dreams and happiness into the sky.
This year's Loy Krathong was more than just a celebration; it was a lesson in love and sustainability. It reminded us that we can uphold traditions without harming the environment and that we can make our celebrations even more memorable.
Children laughed, played, and experienced wonderful experiences, leaving them with memories that will last throughout their lives. This night of light and love reminded us of what truly defines our home: our shared dedication to creating beauty together.
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