This tradition began in Sukhothai and is now celebrated throughout Thailand, the festivities in Chiang Mai and Ayutthaya being the most famous.

In the north of the kingdom, especially in Chiang Mai, Loy Kratong is an opportunity for a spectacular release of cylindrical lanterns carried by hot air balloons.

Loy Kratong is one of the friendly and joyful celebrations of Thai tradition. According to legend the most commonly accepted, it was in the Kingdom of Sukhothai, to the court of King Pra Ruang, a Brahmin priest who had an extremely beautiful daughter named Naang Noppamart.

She was very intelligent and gifted with artistic talent makes it able to make beautiful garlands. Her beauty and talent attracted the attention of the king and at the age of 17, she fu admitted to the status of royal concubine.

At that time, the Hindus celebrated during the 12th lunar month a party where they worshiped their three main gods (Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva) with lanterns mounted on long poles and the release of lanterns in the sacred river Ganges to pay tribute to the goddess Ganga, "Mother of the Waters."