Yee Peng is the lantern festival celebrated in Chiang Mai and is celebrated on full moon of the twelfth lunar month, to mark the end of the rainy season usually between October and November, the next festival is set to take place on the 31 October 2020. The ceremony is rooted in Buddhism and is thought to have originated in India, inspired by the candle carrying bird who visited Buddha to talk about merit. The beautiful paper lanterns, Khom Loi or Khom Fai are made from rice paper and have a candle which creates hot air in the lantern allowing it to float. It is believed that if your lantern floats away you will have released all the bad omens and will have good fortune for the upcoming year, whilst if it crashes …. guess quite a few lanterns crashed in 2019 !
