The traditional Thai Festival of Light was celebrated last night in Israel as well.
During this festival, known in Thai as Loy Krathong, families gather by riversides for a communal picnic. Similarly, dozens of Israelis from the tourism industry gathered last night around the swimming pool at the residence of Thailand’s new ambassador, Boonyarit Vichienpuntu, in the presence of the Director of the Rome Office of TAT (Tourism Authority of Thailand), Ms. Nanthasiri Ronnasiri, who co sponsored the event. Around the garden, food stations were set up serving authentic Thai dishes.
Ambassador Vichienpuntu welcomed the guests, saying: “This is not an official residence, it is my home. And I open it to all of you, my new friends. I arrived in Israel only a month and a half ago, and I consider myself the luckiest Thai ambassador in the world. Our culture is to live in peace and harmony with all people. The war here and the tragic events of October 7 are foreign to us and deeply sadden us.”
The event was emceed by Imri Kalmann, CEO of Terranova, who next month will replace his father, Dov Kalmann, as the representative of TAT in Israel. Imri and the ambassador surprised Dov by inviting him on stage to receive a certificate of appreciation and a large bouquet of flowers.
Imri also arranged for a Thai dance troupe that had come to Israel especially to perform at the festival. A group of musicians played traditional Thai melodies, and there was even a Thai boxing demonstration. Later in the evening, the embassy’s Thai chef gave a cooking presentation on how to prepare Thailand’s most popular dish, Pad Thai Tofu, with the ambassador himself standing beside him and explaining each stage of the preparation.
The highlight of the evening was the ritual that gives the festival its name. In Thailand, children traditionally hold Krathongs – small banana-leaf boats – while adults prepare lotus flower arrangements, each decorated with a candle and incense stick. At nightfall, the boats and flowers are floated away, in a ceremony reminiscent of the Jewish Tashlich tradition on Rosh Hashanah. The ambassador explained: “The rivers give us life, and in return we offer them a symbolic gift of flowers.”
This tradition was also recreated in Herzliya. Distinguished guests placed lotus arrangements in the ambassador’s private swimming pool, where they floated gently with the current. In Thailand’s rivers, the candles flicker as if breathing, and the waters fill with thousands of shimmering lights, giving the celebration its name: the Festival of Light. Each candle carries a silent prayer: a plea for forgiveness, a wish for a brighter tomorrow. Above it all drifts the delicate scent of incense, with waves of laughter mingling with the distant sound of temple bells.
But in original Festival of light I saw in Thailand a few years ago, I witnessed yet another custom, one that I did not see last night in Herzliya: the release of white lanterns – Khom Loi. Filled with hot air, they rise into the sky, carrying people’s hopes with them. Thousands of glowing points ascend at once, making the entire city seem to lift toward the heavens. That moment, looking up and finding yourself surrounded by strangers who share the same invisible wish, is a rare moment of human unity.
In Thailand, the Festival of Light is both a sensory and a spiritual experience. A play between light and darkness, fire and water, earth and sky. In such moments, one realizes that Thailand is not only a holiday tourism destination, but also a place where ancient belief is transformed into a living song of light.
