21st November 2018 was a day full of colours, smiles and activities at the International School of Samui. We celebrated Loy Krathong slightly ahead of schedule so that students would be ready for the celebrations around the island the next day. Many students and their families gathered at temples to float away their Krathongs in traditional ceremonies.
Loy Krathong remains one of the important Thai holidays we celebrate at ISS every year. This year, our Thai Department, headed by Dr Khemjira (Kroo Jae to her students) gave us yet another wonderful display of exactly what Loy Krathong is all about. Click here to view more photos of our show on our Flickr album
We had three excellent hosts: Martin (Y7), Namwa (Y9) and Mimp (Y11) who opened the show and reminded the assembled audience the meaning and history behind the Loy Krathong festival:
"The Loy Krathong tradition is a ceremony which honours the Goddess of the river and the gift natural water brings to communities. In Thailand it is annually held on the full moon in November. Krathongs (small vessels or cups, often made from banana trunks and leaves are adorned with flowers, candles and joss sticks) are released in the rivers and left to float downstream. Upon releasing the Krathongs, people ask for forgiveness to the Goddess of the river for polluting her. A widely celebrated custom in Thailand and across the region.
After Headmaster Jeremy Lees' warm opening speech, the programme continued with students' performances from Early Years, Primary and Senior departments. Each performance was outstanding with performances across the ages blowing the audience away. The Thai department students’ definitely did the school proud. A brief rundown of the running order below:
1st show: "Sawasdee" by Early Years Busy Bees
2nd show: ‘ฉันรักเธอ – or I love you song’ by Reception students
3rd show: “Rum athit than” ( ระ บำ อะ ทิด ถาน ) by select Year 2 and 3 students
4th show: “Rabum Si Park”( ระ บำ สี่ พาก) by Years 4, 5 and 6 representatives
5th show: “Rum Mah Nora”( รำ มะ โน รา ) by select senior students
6th show: “Tao gnoy” ( เต่า งอย ) by Year 7
7th show: “Ra bum Kong yaw” ( รำ กลอง ยาว ) by Year 10 students
These Thai dances, all reflected and portrayed the sufficiency of traditional life and the people's happiness in different regions of Thailand. Watch our Facebook Live broadcast here.
Last year's Loy Krathong Show 2017 was absolutely amazing, but this year, they set another record. Each performance took our souls to the heart of Thai culture reminding us of the gentleness, elegance and peacefulness of the Thai people.
Congratulations to all our choreographers and Thai teachers who worked tirelessly to celebrate this wonderful festival and wow the audience with their skills and talent.
The rest of the day was spent learning about the cultural aspect behind this Thai festival. Students made Krathongs; cooked with the Thai teachers; practised some Thai music; learnt the skill of weaving Thai leaves into animals; and had a go at traditional Thai dancing. It was a day full of activities and learning.
The younger students had fun playing traditional Thai games in the garden. The senior school students made boats which they then challenged each other to race in the swimming. Oxford v Cambridge fought it out – this required some strong leadership skills as the main oarsman in each team was blindfolded so he needed to listen to his teammates to get to the finish line! And for this activity, the House of Oxford won. Congratulations Team Hut!
It was so much fun to watch and all students had a great time whilst learning the values of this important cultural event!
Click on the links below to view photos of our Flickr albums:
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