Star Lamps and Light Festival celebrations!

It’s the time of the year we’ve all been waiting for! October comes to Laos bringing, not only a cooler wind and less rain but also the Light Festival!

It is by far our favorite festival of all the Lao festivities. Known as “Lai Heua Fai” it is the occasion to celebrate the spirit of the river. It is also the celebration of Boun Awk Phansa, which is the end of Buddhist Lent. This period lasts three lunar months (usually beginning on the full moon of July and ending in the fool moon of October) and it is a time of more strict rules; for example, during this time monks are to sleep in the temple are night and stay close to the premises.

For a week, every temple is decorated with glowing star lamps that have been hand made in the temple out of bamboo and paper. Little lamps are placed on the floor or hung around the temple grounds and it is mesmerizing to watch.

Yellow candles are lit in every corner of the temple walls and the Lao houses show their new lamps and lights around their entrances. Luang Prabang is already a beautiful town, but during this time of the year, it becomes truly magical.

Krathongs

One of the ways of showing respect to the river and its spirits, is by making and releasing your own Krathongs. They are little boats usually made of natural materials like banana tree trunk, bee wax candles and flowers. These little boats are released to the river at night and while you let them go, you are supposed to release those feelings that you wish to go with it (like anger, frustration, sadness etc). This tradition has of course transformed over time. There are some who ask for wishes, some who think about all the bad things that they felt or that happened during the last year and release their boat. The way 2020 is going, we think we will see some bigger Krathongs out there this year ;)

Some stories say that if lovers release their boats together, if the boats swim apart, it means that the couple will not be together in their next life. Because of this, you’ll see some boats pinned together so as not to risk it! Pretty smart if you ask us.

Parade

One of the biggest moments of the celebration is the parade. Every temple in town organises to create a big boat in the shape of a mythical creatures: we usually see dragons, phoenixes, and serpents ‘ phaya naga” or mystical birds “hongsa”. These boats are also made out of bamboo and paper and have hundreds of candles that light them up from the inside. They are rolled through the main street until the end of the peninsula where they are judged by a panel. Walking along side the boats, there are groups of people singing, dancing and playing music. Then, these heavy candle lit creations are carried down a long flight of stairs until they are released on to the Mekong River.

The combination of the Krathongs and the big boats floating down the river underneath the stars of the night makes this night our all time favourite of the year.

Our way of participating on this amazing celebration is by using our own Mulberry tree bark and turning it into Passa Paa Star Lamps. Even though it doesn’t seem like it, there is a ton of work in each star. There is also a specific science in the way of tying the bamboo together to create the bamboo structure underneath it.

Every year we host a workshop for people to make their own Passa Paa star lamps! They take their lamps and hang them in their houses to participate in the festival.

This year, the workshop will be at our studio. We will have the workshop available on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th. 150.000 kip per person! BUT invite your friends or family to subscribe with you and pay 2 spots and get 3.

If you are in Luang Prabang, subscribe NOW by sending us a private message through social media or by using www.passa-paa.com/starlampworkshops

We hope to see you there! 💫