This photo taken on November 1, 2020 shows tourists taking photographs of the figure of an elephant made of rice straw in an amusement park on the shores of Huay Tueng Thao lake outside Chiang Mai. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

A bird flies over the abandoned giant sculpture of a Buddhist monk in Cha-am outside Hua Hin, 145km south of Bangkok, on February 25, 2021. (Photo by Mladen Antonov/AFP Photo)

A dog poses in traditional Chinese dress on Yaowarat Road in Chinatown on the eve of Lunar New Year on January 20, 2023 in Bangkok, Thailand. The Chinese diaspora of Southeast Asia is celebrating a lively Lunar New Year as COVID-19 restrictions have been removed. It is traditionally a time for people to meet their relatives and take part in celebrations with families. In Thailand, which has a sizeable population of Chinese lineage, people gather with family and celebrate with feasts and visits to temples. (Photo by Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images)

Water pools on top of a water lily leaf after rain at Benchakitti Forest Park in Bangkok, Thailand on September 27, 2023. (Photo by Jorge Silva/Reuters)

A macaque climbs on a visitor at Phra Prang Sam Yot temple in Lopburi, Thailand on February 25, 2024. Although the thousands of macaques living in town are a tourists' attraction, many complain that they harass residents and damage houses and businesses while deterring potential visitors. (Photo by Valeria Mongelli/Anadolu via Getty Images)

A reveller reacts during a water fight at Songkran Festival celebrations in Bangkok April 13, 2016. The three-day Songkran Festival starts on 13-15 April annually and is celebrated with splashing water and putting powder on each others faces as a symbolic sign of cleansing and washing away the sins from the old year. (Photo by Jorge Silva/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)