East anD SOUTHEAST ASIA THAILAND

This week's online class takes us to Thailand, an ancient kingdom that in all its years of being a unified nation never been colonized by Western powers -- the only country in Southeast Asia with that distinction. The Thai people are overwhelmingly Theravada Buddhist (95%), almost 100% Thai speaking, though many also speak their own ethnic group's local language, and, by all public accounts, quite fond of the king, whose official title is, "Head of State, the Head of the Armed Forces, an Upholder of the Buddhist religion, and the Defender of all Faiths."

For decades after the World War II the Thai military essentially ran the nation, with leadership changing hands through a succession of military coups. Democracy won out in the 1980s, enabling Thailand to rapidly industrialize, and rapidly build beach resorts for European tourists along its gorgeous coast. Thailand faced rough times in 1997 when the economy stopped booming, causing the value of the Thai currency to collapse and prompting an Asia-wide financial crisis. Thailand has since gotten back on its feet financially and has continued to grow, though political unrest is a constant threat.

In class we celebrate Loy Krathong, an annual festival that takes place on the evening of the full moon of the Thai lunar calendar’s 12th month, which usually coincides with the Western calendar’s November. Traditionally, Thais celebrate Loy Krathong (“loy” means “to float” and “krathong” is the thing you float) by taking a section of a banana tree trunk, decorating it with flowers and candles and floating it down the river to simultaneously honor the Buddha (venerating him with the candle), let go of one’s grudges and other burdens by floating them away, and make a symbolic offering to the goddess of water, Phra Mae Khongkha. Some Thais will also put their fingernail clippings or a lock of hair in the raft to symbolically let go of parts of themselves. Today people without banana trees to spare make “krathongs” out of bread or, with less environmental consciousness, styrofoam.

LEARN ABOUT LOY KRATHONG: INTERACTIVE LESSONS FOR KIDS