A woman holds up what the Chris Steaks & Burgers restaurant says is Thailand's biggest burger weighing more than 6 kilograms, before a competition held to eat it at the restaurant in Bangkok, Thailand, October 11, 2019. Chris Steaks and Burgers is offering a 10,000 baht ($330) prize for anyone who can finish the mammoth snack in nine minutes – one baht for every calorie. (Photo by Jiraporn Kuhakan/Reuters)

Visitors look at an elephant swimming in a pool at Khao Kheow Zoo in Chonburi, east of Bangkok, Thailand on February 4, 2020. (Photo by Chaiwat Subprasom/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

A devotee of the Jor Soo Gong Naka shrine with skewers pierced through her cheeks takes part in a procession during the annual Vegetarian Festival in Phuket on September 27, 2022. The festival, back after two years of hiatus because of the Covid-19 pandemic, features religious devotees who slash themselves with swords, pierce their cheeks with sharp objects and commit other painful acts to purify themselves, taking on the sins of the community. (Photo by Manan Vatsyayana/AFP Photo)

A boy swims in Chao Phraya River as he helps to place a Krathong, or a “floating basket”, in the water amid a yearly festival during which rafts of neatly folded banana leaves, decorated with flowers, candles and incense, are offered to thank the water goddess for good luck and for using her water to grow crops and support all life, in Bangkok, Thailand on November 8, 2022. (Photo by Chalinee Thirasupa/Reuters)

A person takes part in the annual LGBTQ+ Pride parade in Phuket, Thailand on June 4, 2023. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

Yoga enthusiasts perform a yoga exercise in a wine yoga class inside “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience”, a multi-sensorial exhibition featuring artworks of renowned artist Vincent van Gogh at a department store in Bangkok, Thailand, August 5, 2023. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

We are all drawn to fire, entranced by its beauty and ferociousness. Its brilliance draws us in like moths to a candle flame. Thus, many of the celebrations that humans have involve lighting fires. They can be big or small; there could be many little lights or one giant inferno; they may float on water, burn on land, or rise high into the skies. Loi Krathong is a festival that is held each year in Thailand and a number of other places. During this festival thousands of little fires are lighted, presenting a marvelous sight for all the onlookers. It is believed that this tradition is an adaptation of Brahmanical festival, which was adopted by Thai Buddhists to honor Buddha.

Nopparat (R), a 24-year-old transgender, and a Buddhist monk (L) wait to speak to officers during an army draft held at a school in Bang Na in Bangkok April 3, 2015. Thai men over 21 must serve in the army. Those who volunteer serve six months, but others choose the annual lottery, which goes on for 10 days in recruitment centres around Thailand. Only those not considered physically capable of service, the mentally ill and those who have significantly altered their physical appearance, such as transgenders, are exempt. Picture taken April 3, 2015. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)