Some exciting festivals are held on the banks of the Mae Ping River annually. The two most famous are the Songkraan Festival and the Loy Krathong Festival . They attract hordes of visitors so be sure to reserve accommodation in advance, although the overflow is accommodated in the congregation halls of some of the many wats around the town.
Flower Festival The flowers of Chiang Mai are celebrated in the Flower Festival, held each February. The city air is perfumed by the many floral parades and flower exhibitions
Songkraan Festival Songkran (13 April) is the traditional Thai new year which is celebrated by Thais 'sprinkling' blessings onto each other with water, this usually degenerates into a good-humoured free-for-all water fight, bringing welcome relief during the hot, dry month of April.
Loy Krathong Festival Loy Krathong is celebrated on every full moon night of November to thank the goddess of the river for the use of the waterways by people. It is a celebrated nationwide but is particularly popular in Chiang Mai with the graceful Mae Ping River running through it. Festival goers set afloat a tiny boat or krathong , made of leaves or wax paper and containing lighted candles, joss sticks, flowers and coins as an offering to the river goddess. The krathong is also believed to bear away bad luck and misfortune with it. This all takes place in the light of the full moon and forms quite a spectacle with thousands of krathong candles floating down the river. Chiang Mai's unique contribution to this tradition is to decorate houses with colourful lanterns and to release many balloons into the sky bearing candles and fireworks, adding to the vibrant display.
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