The floating basket released during Loy Krathong is called a krathong. The Thai festival’s name refers to floating this small ritual vessel, usually on a river, canal, lake, or pond.
Traditional krathongs are made from a slice of banana-tree trunk or a spider-lily plant and decorated with folded banana leaves, flowers, incense sticks, and a candle. Bread versions are also used because they can break down naturally, while Styrofoam floats have faced criticism and bans for polluting waterways.
The candle and incense may be offered in honor of the water goddess Phra Mae Khongkha, while floating the krathong can symbolize releasing anger, misfortune, or past troubles. Some celebrants add a coin, hair, or nail clippings as a symbolic offering or act of letting go.
A common mix-up is confusing krathongs with khom loi, the airborne lanterns associated especially with northern Thailand’s Yi Peng celebrations. Yi Peng may coincide with Loy Krathong in Chiang Mai, but its sky lanterns are not the floating baskets themselves.