A Thai restaurant in northern Phitsanulok province has found a new approach to the ancient Thai festival of Loy Krathong — using losing lottery tickets to construct the festival’s traditional water lanterns aka “Krathong” in Thai.
For those who haven’t experienced one of Thailand’s most iconic festivals, Loy Krathong is celebrated on the evening of the full moon in November every year for people to pay respect to the Goddess of Water. It is also, of course, a romantic night for young Thai couples to float a krathong under the moonlight, often a prelude to … other activities.
Restaurant owner Apichada Sawangsuwan told Sanook yesterday that she got the idea for the novel water lanterns when her mother started making lottery ticket krathong for their family last year, and locals quickly took a liking to the paper art.
She added that her family has collected a hefty amount of lottery tickets over the years, so they were more than well supplied. Why they kept kept an ever-growing stash of losing tickets is a question that no one seems to have answered at this point.
The family reportedly can produce two to three krathongs a day and sells them for THB20-THB50 (about US60 cents-US$1.50), depending on the size.
Apichada claims that the krathongs have also been a serious boost for business at their restaurant.
Though definitely a creative idea, we have to point out that the lottery krathongs aren’t very environmentally friendly, especially amidst increasing efforts to reduce waste during this festival.
In 2016, Bangkok collected 60 tons of krathong waste from bodies of water around the city.
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