Author: Katya Selezneva. Katya is a student at Singapore Genius School Krabi. She was task to be the Chairwoman to plan and organize the Loy Krathong Celebration. This is another excellent project “By Students For Students”. Do enjoy reading.
Loi Krathong is an annual festival celebrated on 11th of November all over Thailand. It comes from the tradition of making Krathongs -decorated baskets which are then floated on a river, canal and lakes to pay respect to goddess of water. Krathong is a Thai term for a piece of banana trunk decorated by flowers, candles, banana leaves and incense sticks. Loy means to float in the Thai language. It is a big family affair, enjoyed by all. So, it is obvious we must celebrate it.
I was tasked to lead this project. So with my classmates who were really eager and we handled this project as best we could. Teacher Xin was assigned to oversee this project. He helped us achieved all that we wanted. In our school, the celebration was split over three days, isn’t that fun! This was to give a chance for the students to immerse themselves into the Thai culture in abundance! Almost everyone came to school wearing Thai traditional clothes. Inju and Gerrit came in Thai pants and a Thai t-shirt. Lucy also had Thai pants with an original Thai blouse and the most beautiful matching belt to go with her pants. Of course, the nursery kids were dressed in adorable Thai outfits.
Loy Krathong
On the first day we made Krathongs. They were in the shape of a round boat basket. Teacher Xin arranged all the materials for our Krathongs. We had banana trunks, flowers, joss sticks and candles to create it.Meanwhile a day before, Mrs June baked bread Krathongs that are more eco-friendly because it would be eaten by fish without sea pollution. Primary students made their krathongs first and later helped the nursery kids with their creation. Finally, we had a contest for the most beautiful Krathong. Seven of them got disqualified because they had gaps in them. There were two left against each other – Shyama’s and Kalavati’s. Teacher Kristina was called to judge the final and Shyama’s Krathong won the title for the most beautiful Krathong. All the students had a Krathong to bring home
On the second day we did a cooking class. We cooked the most delicious and famous Thai dessert -corn in coconut milk. It was so fun as we the students always enjoy cooking classes. Sadly we did not have bananas, so corn in coconut milk, was our second choice. This might sound weird but it is actually came out to be super tasty. Everyone ate with delight and asked for more.
Singapore Genius School Krabi
Traditional Thai Dance
On the third day we did a traditional Thai dance. Teacher Xin put on Thai music and rounded up all the kids in a circle. Teacher Xin also thought us a few graceful steps. All enjoyed dancing so much that Mr. Indi came to dance with us too! It was so funny! Overall, we had a great time over the 3 days to celebrate a traditional Thai festival, where we got to learn more about the culture and experience it for ourselvesThis was the best Loy Krathong since my stay in Thailand. I am sure that no other school celebrated Loy Krathong over 3 days. Singapore Genius School Krabi is my choice for excellence in education.
