Yi Peng lantern festival, Chiang Mai, Thailand 15 Nov 2024

Yi Peng lantern festival, Chiang Mai, Thailand

As twilight descends today, Chiang Mai, Thailand"s second-largest city, will come alive with thousands of glowing lanterns for Yi Peng. Held on the full moon of the second month of the Lanna lunar calendar—a calendar that dates to the medieval Lanna Kingdom of Northern Thailand—this celebration signifies the removal of negativity and the embrace of new beginnings. The highlight of the festival is the release of "khom loi" or "khom loy"—floating paper lanterns—into the night sky, creating a beautiful sight as the heavens fill with a sea of warm, golden lights. Locals and visitors gather around temples and palaces to send their wishes skyward, hoping for good fortune in the year to come.

© tampatra/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

All going swimmingly
15 Nov 2023Rapa Valley in Sarek National Park, Sweden

More Desktop Wallpapers:

6 Sep 2024Glenariff Forest Park, Northern Ireland, UK
20 Jul 2025Moon Day
3 Dec 2024Amber Fort, Amer, Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
In the running
5 Feb 2024Northern hawk-owl
3 Jul 2024World Meerkat Day
23 Dec 2023Festivus
This bird is peak beak
25 Feb 2025Bryce Canyon National Park, Utah, United States
Home of the worst-smelling food?
30 Oct 2024Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
25 Sep 2023Sea otters
28 Jan 2024Channel Country, Australia
Puffins pucker up
9 Aug 2024Bristol International Balloon Fiesta
7 Aug 2025Sweetheart Abbey, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
14 May 2024Carlsbad Caverns National Park
24 Sep 2024Skaftafell, Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland
28 Sep 2024Taj Mahal, Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India
Teeming with trout
Sep 2, 2023National Hummingbird Day
A hiker’s dream
Huddled and hunting
10 Aug 2025World Lion Day
29 Mar 2024South Stack Lighthouse, Holyhead, Wales
Paranormal activity?
29 Oct 2024Great horned owl
Swedish wilderness
8 Aug 2024Spotted owlet, Bangkok, Thailand
19 Apr 2024Ring of Brodgar, Orkney, Scotland