On this special evening people make their ways to a canal or river nearby with a “krathong” or small boat made from folded banana leaves and decorated with flowers, incense sticks and candles. The krathong is then offered to the river goddess Ganga for blessing each person with enough water to grow rice and to sustain them throughout the year.
Before sending off the krathong, a wish is made and it is believed that if the offering floats downstream, one’s bad luck and misfortune go with it.