Yi-Peng Lantern Festival in Chiang Mai

This experience was absolutely incredible. It is a highly anticipated happening every single year, and tends to take place right at the start of November, and it is a celebration of the Lunar New Year. The story behind the lanterns is that it is believed to symbolise and represent the release of all ills and misfortunes of the previous year, and start the new year with a celebration of light and life!

aerial view of the festival!

Having become so popular I was worried it would be very commercial, but it was such a beautiful ceremony, and the entire event was constructed so perfectly. The experience was beyond any other feeling and the overall energy was packed with positivity all around us, as thousands of people entered the new lunar year with light all around them.

I was lucky enough to experience the festivities with a group of extremely talented photographers and filmmakers which was a fortunate group of people to be surrounded by for some days of exploring and fun in Thailand! I highly recommend attending an event like this because it really is one of the best things about travelling, experiencing the local traditions of the destination. Typically these seasonal and annual traditions are of extreme importance to the nation and are celebrated in big fashion, so being somewhere at the right time can be extremely exciting!

The environmental impact of this celebration is of course questionable, but the paper of the lanterns is made of rice paper, and supposedly the wiring inside (amounting to less than 1% of the total mass) is biodegradable too, but at a slower rate than the paper of course.