Update 5:15pm, Nov. 9: Gov’t spokesperson Traisulee Traisoranakul said Prayuth’s comments canceling Loy Kratong were “misunderstood,” and public agencies may host events so long as preventive health measures are in place. So now that that’s clear.
With COVID-19 still threatening to upend the return to prosperity, Thailand won’t risk Loy Krathong becoming a super-spreader event and today canceled the usual festivities.
Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha put the kibosh on hosting traditional celebrations for the Nov. 19 event at this afternoon’s cabinet meeting, tourism minister Pipat Ratchakitprakarn said afterward, due to the diminished-but-still-raging pandemic.
Still, committed observers floaters can loy, loy, loy their boats in local waterways without the usual pomp.
“We might not be able to host Loy Krathong this year, but people can still float krathong,” Pipat said.
That contradicts what was reported earlier. A prime minister spokesman, Ratchada Thanadirek, said Oct. 30 that Prayuth had signed off on agencies organizing Loy Krathong events as long as they included preventive health measures and prohibited alcohol and fireworks.
Loy Krathong is another Hindu hand-me-down tradition honoring the spirits of the water. Its contemporary form has taken on a romantic association more akin to Valentine’s Day as young couples gather to float floral arrangements and candles in anything resembling a waterway.
It’s also a tremendous source of waste and pollution. Canceling Loy Krathong certainly won’t offend the aquatic sprites who won’t wake up buried under tens of thousands of polluting floats dumped into canals and rivers.
An online campaign #NoLoykrathong2020 last year asked the public to refrain as the tradition spoils the very water it is meant to venerate.
While the daily caseload has slid to roughly a third of what it was mid-August, it’s averaged nearly 8,000 for the past week. Thailand has pinned its economic recovery on last week’s reopening to vaccinated travelers from dozens of nations.
