Loy Krathong is one of the most important days in the Thai calendar. It occurs on the full moon day of the twelfth lunar month, the ‘high water’ season when water overflows the banks of rivers and canals. On Loy Krathong day this great abundance of water is celebrated by floating delicately created ‘krathongs’ on any and every stretch of water in the Kingdom.
In Thai folklore, five goddesses personify the five material elements. Mae Phra Toranee or Mother Earth; Mae Phra Phai, goddess of the wind; Mae Phra Plerng, goddess of fire; Mae Phosop, goddess of grain or food; and Mae Kong Ka or Mother Water. ‘Kong Ka’ really means the Ganges but has come to mean water in general. Loy Krathong is the annual festival of thanksgiving to Mae Kong Ka for her bounty in providing water not only for drinking and washing, but for the essential means of livelihood of most Thais agriculture, fishing and transport by river and klong. At the same time Loy Krathong is a request for Mae Kong Ka’s forgiveness for having used and polluted the water.
Many people also believe that as their krathong floats away, the water washes away their sins of the past year.