Halloween, Loy Kratong, and Easter Eggs

by Jean

Our Christian school celebrated Loy Krathong on November 11. They made little decorated rafts from banana tree parts (krathongs)

and went to float (loy) them on a nearby pond. Before they did that, they had a kind of beauty contest with one girl from each class.  The 6th grade girl sang the Loi Krathong song, which the school had been playing most of the week.   They also played some dancing and singing games. Earlier in the week they drew pictures of the usual Loy Krathong events. Although no mention of spirits were made at our school (that I could tell), Loy Krathong has a history of being an event to satisfy the water spirits or repay them for polluting the waters the rest of the year.  The official Loy Krathong song, though, does talk about praying to see a better day when they float the krathongs.  The connection to spirit worship is the reason some Thai Christians refuse to participate in it. Many Thais say that the festival is just for fun, but is it? The question then for me is what I should do as a Christian in my school.

A holiday in the U.S. that obviously celebrates other spirits is Halloween. I have refused to celebrate that holiday because of its background in the celebration of Satanic creatures and the continued emphasis on that theme. One difference between that holiday and Loy Krathong is that Halloween decorations still focus on the Satanic creatures and I saw no representations of any spirits anywhere in relation to Loy Krathong.  The words in the song are a bit troubling, though.

Many Christians in the U.S. who refuse to celebrate Halloween still carve Jack-o-Lanterns. Jack-o-lanterns were once made to scare evil spirits away. I’m pretty sure that no one in the US who makes them believes that anymore, so does that make it ok? Is the Loy Krathong participation worse because many people in Thailand, and maybe some Christians, still believe in the satisfaction of the spirits?

There is also the practice of decorating and hunting Easter eggs among many Christians of the world. The practice of offering eggs to different gods as a celebration of the new life of spring started long before there were Christians. Christians redeemed it by making it a symbol of the new life we can have through the resurrected Christ. Is it possible for the Thai Christians to redeem Loi Krathong?

They have to be careful, though, not to bring in the animistic methods of satisfying God like they satisfy the other spirits. Cindy Bratton sent me a good article on this called Animism, Syncretism, and Christianity in Thailand by Karl Dahlfred, a western pastor who has been in Thailand a long time. (I will try to get that on our web site somewhere.) Thai Christians have a tendency to try to manipulate God, through obedience and offerings, to do things for them the way they manipulated the other spirits. Becoming a Christian then means having the most powerful spirit on your side, rather than realizing you can’t be good on your own and letting Him change your life. Even that article, though, only brings up the controversy among Thai Christians about Loy Krathong. The article does say that western Christians need to work lovingly with Thai Christians through all these issues. It seems like some westerners are “Christians” so they can be “right” and tell everyone else they are “wrong”. That power trip sounds very close to the one the Thais are falling into.

I believe I should try to gently ask the principle and office manager why they feel the Christian school can participate in this festival. Then, I will have to pray about what my involvement should be in it next year.  I would appreciate any comments or suggestions you have in response to what I’ve said.

Thanks, :J