The following focuses on Mongolian Nadam, Dai Water-splashing Festival and Yi Torch Festival.
1. nadam
Mongolian means game or entertainment. Originally refers to the Mongolian traditional men's triathlon-wrestling, horse racing and archery. With the development of the times, it has gradually evolved into a grand celebration and material exchange activity that includes various cultural and entertainment contents today. Nadam in history is not limited by time, and is generally held on occasions such as offering sacrifices to mountains and rivers, military expeditions, triumphs, the emperor's accession to the throne, the first month, and large-scale celebrations.
2. Water-splashing Festival
Songkran Festival is the biggest festival of Dai people, and it is also the festival with the greatest influence and the largest number of participants among all ethnic groups in Yunnan. Songkran Festival is the New Year of the Dai people, which is equivalent to the middle of April in the Gregorian calendar and generally lasts for 3 to 7 days. The first day is called Mairi in Dai language, which is similar to the Chinese New Year's Eve. The next day, the Dai language is called angry day (empty day); The third day is the New Year, which means the beginning of a year. People think this day is the most beautiful and auspicious day.
3. Torch Festival
Torch Festival is an ancient traditional festival of Yi people, which has profound folk culture connotation and is called the carnival of the East. Different ethnic groups hold Torch Festivals at different times, mostly on June 24th of the lunar calendar. The main activities are bullfighting, goat shooting, cockfighting, horse racing, wrestling, song and dance performances, beauty contests and so on.