The Water-Splashing Festival is the most solemn festival of the Dai people. It is also the festival with the greatest influence and the largest number of participants among the ethnic minority festivals in Yunnan. The Water Splashing Festival is the Dai New Year, which is equivalent to mid-April in the Gregorian calendar. The festival generally lasts from 3 to 7 days. The first day is called "Mai Ri" in Dai language, which is similar to the New Year's Eve in the lunar calendar; the second day is called "Nai Ri" (empty day) in Dai language; the third day is the New Year, called "Bawangma", which is actually the beginning of the year. People regard this day as the most beautiful and auspicious day. In the early morning of the festival, Dai men, women and children put on their festive costumes, carry water, go to the Buddhist temple to bathe the Buddha, and then start splashing water on each other to wish each other good luck, happiness and health. People danced and shouted "Water! Water! Water!", the sound of drums and gongs resounded through the sky, and the blessing water splashed everywhere. The scene was really spectacular.

During the Water-Splashing Festival, Dai youths like to go to the forest clearings to play the bag-throwing game. The flower bag is made of beautiful floral cloth, filled with tissue paper, cotton seeds, etc., and is decorated with five flower spikes on the four corners and in the center. It is a token of love. Young men and women get to know each other by throwing and receiving bags. After the girl consciously made the young man unable to catch up and lost, the young man gave the gift he had prepared to the girl, and they both left the crowd and went to a quiet place to fall in love.

Dragon boat racing will also be held during the Water Splashing Festival. The competition is held on the Lancang River. Groups of dragon boats draped in red and green, chopping the waves and moving forward bravely amid the sound of gongs and the shouts and whistles of "Hey, Hey, Hey," attract thousands of Chinese and foreign tourists to the Lancang River. The festival adds a lot of tension and joy to the atmosphere.

The Water Splashing Festival originated in India. It was once a religious ritual of Indian Brahmanism. It was later absorbed by Buddhism and introduced to the Dai area of ??Yunnan via Myanmar. The time was about the end of the 13th century to the beginning of the 14th century. , with a history of 700 years. With the increasing influence of Theravada Buddhism in the Dai area, the practice of Water Splashing Festival has become increasingly widespread. The Water Splashing Festival is a celebration of the Dai New Year, usually between April 13th and April 15th in the Gregorian calendar. At that time, people first go to the Buddhist temple to bathe the Buddha, and then splash water on each other to express sincere blessings with splashing water. There was laughter and laughter everywhere, full of festive atmosphere.

Another eye-catching activity during the Water Splashing Festival is dragon boat racing, elephant foot dance and peacock dance. At that time, the third day of the Dai New Year was called "Maipaya Wanma" in Dai language, and the festive atmosphere reached its climax. People in festive costumes gathered on the banks of the Lancang and Ruili rivers to watch the dragon boat races. The activities of the Water Splashing Festival are rich in content, and other activities include flying high, cock fighting, peacock dance, etc. People are dressed in costumes and are beaming with joy, and the scene is extremely lively!

When the Water Splashing Festival comes, the Dai people are busy killing pigs , kill chickens, make wine, and make a lot of "Hinoso" (rice cakes) and various kinds of cakes made of glutinous rice to eat during the festival.

The Water Splashing Festival lasts for three days. On the first day, there were dragon boat rowing, high-flying and artistic performances; on the second day, water splashing; on the third day, young men and women threw bags and exchanged materials together.

The Water Splashing Festival is usually held on the banks of the beautiful Lancang River. When the morning light shines red on the "City of Dawn", people of all ethnic groups dress up in costumes and gather here from all directions. With a command, one after another soared into the sky, straight through the sky, and the dragon boats rushed straight to the other shore like arrows. At this time, thousands of golden bamboos played "(Bamboos above must be below)" together, gongs and elephant drums were beaten together, and both sides of the Lancang River suddenly turned into a sea of ??joy.

When the water splashing just started, the polite Dai girl said blessing words while dipping bamboo leaves and branches into the water in the basin and sprinkling them on each other. "The water blooms and the Dai people go crazy", when it reaches its climax, people use copper bowls, washbasins, and even buckets to fill water, and play and chase in the streets and alleys. They only feel that the water in front of them and the water behind them are splashing to their heart's content. Everyone was soaked from head to toe, but people were in high spirits and there was laughter and laughter everywhere. After a period of water baptism, people gathered in a circle and danced gracefully to the accompaniment of gongs and elephant drums, regardless of nationality, age or occupation. When they were excited, people also burst into cheers of "water, water, water". Some men dance and drink at the same time, so drunk that they stay up all night.

"Pack Loss" is the most romantic game and is often a special game for unmarried young people of the Dai ethnic group.

"Bao" is a token of love. It is carefully made of floral cloth by Dai girls and contains cotton seeds. The four corners of the bag are decorated with colorful flower spikes. When throwing bags, men and women stand in a row on the green lawn. The Dai girl first throws the bag to the young man, and the young man throws it to the girl, thereby conveying feelings. In this way, the flower bags flew back and forth, and finally the emotional exchange reached a certain level. The two parties quietly left the bag throwing place and found a quiet place to whisper together.

At the Water Splashing Festival, young people splashed water like silver flowers in full bloom.

Traditional festivals of Dai, Achang, Deang, Bulang, Wa and other ethnic groups. In Dai language, the New Year is called "Jingbi Mai" and the Water Splashing Festival is called "Hunan". Therefore, the Water Splashing Festival is a symbol of the transition between the old and the new in the Dai calendar.

The Water Splashing Festival usually takes place in mid-April in the Gregorian calendar and in June in the Dai calendar, lasting three to five days. The first day is called "Whisuo Sanli", which means New Year's Eve, and the last day is called "Whiba Wima", which means "the day when the King of Days arrives" and is New Year's Day. The middle one is called "Wan Nao", which means "empty day". During every festival, activities such as splashing water, throwing bags, rowing dragon boats, flying high, worshiping Buddha, and chasing pendulums are carried out.

In the early morning of the first day of the festival, people gathered flowers and green leaves to offer offerings to the Buddhist temple, and piled sand to build four or five pagodas in the temple. Worldly beings sat around the pagodas, listening to the Buddha chanting sutras, and then placed the Buddha statues in the temple. After carrying it to the courtyard, women from all over the village brought clear water to wash the dust of the Buddha statue. After the ceremony in the Buddhist temple, the young men and women stopped splashing water on each other for fun, and the mass water-splashing activity began. People filled copper bowls, basins and even buckets with water, and rushed out of the streets and alleys, chasing the concubines and splashing water on everyone. Folks believe that this is auspicious water, a blessing water that can ward off disasters and diseases, so people pour it as much as they want. Regardless of the person who pours it or the person who is poured it, although they are soaked from head to toe, they are still very happy. I saw water flowers blooming among the crowd, forming rainbows under the reflection of the sun, and everywhere was filled with laughter and laughter.

In addition to splashing water, there are also mass singing and dancing activities. Elderly people in their 70s and 80s, and children as young as 78 years old, all dressed up in festive costumes, came to the village square, where men, women and children gathered in a circle and danced to the beats of gongs, elephant feet and drums. Some dance "Peacock Dance", some dance "Yulahe", and some improvise, singing and dancing at the same time, with graceful movements, distinctive rhythm and moving singing. When it jumps to high spirits, cheers of "water, water, water" may erupt, or it may end with the singing of "Yulaha, Yulaha". Some men drank while dancing, getting so drunk that they stayed up all night and even passed out drunk on the dance floor.

During the festival, a dragon boat race is held on the wide Lancang River. The wooden boats were decorated with colorful flowers and dressed up as dragons, peacocks, big fish and other figures. Dozens of young men and women rowed forward vigorously. Crowds of spectators on both sides of the Taiwan Strait filled the sky with the sound of gongs, drums and cheers. After the competition, the winners came to the podium to receive their awards and drink a celebratory drink.

At night, various villages set off fireworks. This is a homemade firework made by the Dai people. It uses a bamboo several feet long, fills the root with gunpowder and other ingredients, and places it on an elevated frame made of bamboo. The fuse is lit, the gunpowder burns, and the bamboo shoots into the sky like a rocket, emitting brilliant fireworks in the sky, like clusters of flowers, stars shining and dazzling, decorating the festive night sky particularly beautifully. The one with the highest score will be praised and rewarded.

During the Water Splashing Festival, activities such as packet throwing are also held. Young men and women find partners and express their love by throwing bags.

April 13th every year is Thailand's Water Splashing Festival, also known as "Songkran Festival". Songkran is Sanskrit, meaning "the sun moves to Aries, that is, the beginning of a new solar year." Songkran lasts for three days and is the hottest time of the year in Thailand. Before the festival, clean the inside and outside of the home and burn old clothes to avoid bad luck. On the day of the festival, people go to temples to build sand towers, place colorful flags and flowers, and pray for a good harvest. In the evening, perfume soaked in flower petals is sprinkled on the arms and backs of the elders to express good wishes to the elders; after that, the elders pour water on the heads of the younger ones to express blessings from the elders.

The annual Thai New Year - Songkran Festival is coming. Starting on April 13, the whole of Thailand was enveloped in a jubilant atmosphere for three consecutive days. At this moment, Thai people usually celebrate by splashing water on each other, so it is also called Songkran Festival.

The traditional custom of splashing water means that you can wash away the bad luck of the past year and start anew in the new year. Today's Songkran Festival is mostly about fun, so if you go to Thailand at this time and get splashed all over your body, don't be angry! In fact, the tradition of Songkran Festival is not unique to Thailand. Neighboring countries such as Myanmar and Cambodia also celebrate this festival at the same time.

On this day, men, women and children will wear new clothes and bring food offerings to the temple to worship the monks. The busiest people in the New Year are housewives. On New Year’s Eve, they are busy cleaning the environment inside and outside the home. The old clothes or old things in the home are set on fire because according to tradition, if the old things or useless items are not thrown away, they will be taken away. Come bad luck. On the afternoon of April 13, people will clean the Buddha statues, and at the same time, the younger generation will pour fragrant water into the hands of their elders and parents to represent respect for their parents and elders and pray for blessings.

Pattaya holds some celebrations at this time every year, such as food exhibitions, float parades, beauty contests and various fireworks displays. In Chiang Mai, activities such as beauty pageants and parades will be held. In Thailand, it is very important to pay close attention to the past, so at this time, people will also bring the ashes of their ancestors to the temples to hold worship ceremonies and pray for blessings.

[Edit this paragraph] Water Splashing Festival of the De'ang people

The De'ang people also celebrate the Water Splashing Festival, which takes place on the seventh day after the Qingming Festival. In addition to the program being consistent with the Dai Water Splashing Festival, the most distinctive custom of the Deang Water Splashing Festival is to wash the hands and feet of the elders. At that time, the younger generations of each family should prepare a basin of hot water and place it in the center of the hall. They will invite the parents and other elders to sit in the hall, kowtow to them and ask them to forgive the younger ones for their unfilial behavior in the past year. . The elders should also review their shortcomings in setting an example for the younger generation over the past year. Then, the younger generation washes their elders' hands and feet, and at the same time wishes each other a harmonious and diligent atmosphere in the coming year. If a parent dies, the brother, sister, sister-in-law, and brother-in-law will be the ones to wash their hands and feet. This custom comes from an ancient legend: a rebellious son was working in the mountains on the seventh day after the Qingming Festival. He saw the scene of the chicks feeding back, and he felt inspired and determined to treat his mother well. At this time, his mother was asking the mountain to I was walking up to deliver food to my son and accidentally slipped. Her son came to help her, but she thought he was coming to beat her, so she hit her head against a tree and died. The son was so remorseful that he cut down the tree and carved it into a statue of his mother. Every year on the seventh day after the Qingming Festival, the statue was dipped in warm water sprinkled with flower petals and washed. It later evolved into a custom.

The De'ang Water Splashing Festival is similar but different from the Dai Water Splashing Festival. It is mostly held around mid-April in the Gregorian calendar. As the festival approaches, people are busy making new clothes, making rice cakes, and making water dragons, buckets and other water-splashing tools. Elderly believers gathered at the Buddhist temple to build a hut and set up a water dragon for washing the statue of Sakyamuni during the Water Splashing Festival. The water dragon is carved from a thick piece of wood, about four or five meters long, and is newly painted with notches on it. When splashing water, the girl carries a bucket and a basin, pours the auspicious water into the trough, and flows to the Buddha statue in the hut to wash away the dust of the Buddha. Then, the respected elders held flowers, dipped them in water and sprinkled them gently on the surrounding crowd, blessing everyone and congratulating them on the beginning of the new year. At this time, people began to get excited and congratulated each other on the New Year. Young people raised the buckets high above their heads and sprinkled water drops on the hands of the elderly, wishing people a happy, healthy and long life. The old people stretched out their hands, held water sticks in their hands, and recited congratulations to the young people. After this ceremony, people would line up in long queues, led by elephant foot drums, and rush to the springs and rivers, singing, dancing, chasing each other, and splashing water. The Water Splashing Festival is not only a New Year ceremony for the Deang people, but also a good time for young men and women to fall in love and find their sweethearts. It is popular among the De'ang people to give bamboo baskets to girls. They give the baskets to the girls they like in the dead of night. The most beautiful one should be given to the girl they like the most to express their love. Test the other person's reaction. Therefore, each girl can often receive several bamboo baskets at this time, but who does the girl fall in love with? It all depends on who the girl is carrying on the day of Songkran Festival who gave her the bamboo basket.

On this day, each girl carries an exquisite and beautiful bamboo basket on her back, but whose basket belongs to it? The young men were very busy now. They opened their eyes wide and stared at the bamboo baskets on the girls, carefully identifying whether the bamboo basket their sweetheart was carrying was the bamboo basket they gave to her. After the lovers meet, they splash water and play with each other to express their excitement and joy.

[Edit this paragraph] Dai Water Splashing Festival

China's Dai people are an ethnic minority with a long cultural tradition, with a population of nearly one million. They mainly live in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture in southern Yunnan, and in western Yunnan. Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture and Gengma, Menglian and other autonomous counties, and others are scattered throughout Yunnan. The Dai people have a long history, and the Dai language belongs to the Dai branch of the Zhuang-Dai language family of the Sino-Tibetan language family. The entire population believes in Buddhism, but primitive religious activities are also common, such as offering sacrifices to village gods and village ghosts, agricultural sacrifices, hunting sacrifices, worship of spiritual objects, etc.

The Water Splashing Festival is actually the New Year of the Dai people and one of the most solemn traditional festivals in Xishuangbanna. It is usually held in mid-June of the Dai calendar (about ten days before and after the Qingming Festival in the lunar calendar) and lasts for three to four days. It usually falls on the three days from April 13th to 15th in the Gregorian calendar.