What is certain is that Loy Krathong festival gives full recognition to the vital role of water in the livelihood of all thais. It is not difficult to see the importance of water to a nation of farmers. But Loy Krathong festival signifies a broader understanding of it's use for activities as diverse as cooking, fishing and transport by river or klong. Once a year thanks must be given for this wonder substance without which there can be no life at all.
Simple krathong are still made of banana leaves, probably fashioned like a lotus flower. Alas, commercialization has brought change even to Loy Krathong festival and nowadays plastic and polystyrene may be popular substitutes for the original materials. Krathong are made not only as boats but in many different forms, sometimes representing houses, birds or temples. These new styles are confined mainly to the town people. The country folk usually have their own homemade krathong for the occasion but perhaps there may be one or two progressive folk who make them in the shape of a bird or boat for the amusement of their children.