Greg to Differ

Last night was the annual Loy Krathong festival in Thailand, with its roots going way back to ancient Indian Hindu rituals. Basically, you buy a krathong, a little float (usually wood, but sometimes styrofoam, cardboard or even dough) about 10 centimeters across and decorated with leaves, flowers and maybe a trinket or two, with a candle and a few sticks of incense in the middle, light the candles and incense, and push it out onto a body of water.

Some people include fingernail and hair clippings on the krathong, along with a bit of money. It’s an offering to the river goddess Phra Mae Kongkha, thanking her for the use of her waterways while simultaneously putting your bad luck (fingernails and hair) onto the krathong and pushing it away.

Now, keep in mind that Thailand has about 62 million people, and if even half of them performed the ceremony (a conservative estimate), you’re looking at seveal hundred thousand tons of crap put into the river. Doesn’t this sound like a strange way to thank the river goddess?

I’ve got a better idea.

How about saying a prayer to Phra Mae Kongkha, and then taking an item of garbage out of the river? Wouldn’t thae make more sense? I mean, you don’t have community service jailbirds cleaning up highways by throwing more shit in the gutter. Would you ever say “Thanks for letting me borrow your car, I left mud all over the seat for you.”

I mean, Loy Krathong looks nice and all, and it’s a nice idea, but it seems to me that it’s another ancient tradition that’s in serious need of some common sense.

Of course, that’s just my opinion, I could be wrong.

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