In his opening remarks, the Ambassador explained the meaning and the history of Loy Kratong which dates back to over 700 hundred years. He also expressed appreciation to Dusit Thani Dubai for organizing this event and helping promote a well-preserved Thai culture and tradition among participants from various nationalities.

            Speaking to UAE’s Gulf News newspaper who was reporting the festival, the Ambassador said that Loy Kratong was a well-preserved tradition of over 700 years old. Thais would use Loy Kratong as an opportunity to ask for pardon from the spirits of water, to float something bad from themselves, to pray for good things in the coming year and to have fun within the community. He added that this year’s flood situation made it an even greater reason for the Thais to participate in Loy Kratong. While most Thais in the UAE had some relatives affected by the flood, they had high spirits as they believed this flood would be once-in-a-lifetime experience.

The said news column is accessible at http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/society/thai-community-celebrates-emotional-loy-krathong-festival-1.928127