What's the date of Yunnan Dai Water-splashing Festival?

The Water-sprinkling Festival is the New Year of the Dai people, which is equivalent to the middle of April (April 13- 16) of the Gregorian calendar and generally lasts for 3 to 7 days.

Dai people in Xishuangbanna and Dehong also call this festival "Shang Han" and "Shang Jian". Both names are derived from Sanskrit, meaning turnover, change and transfer, which means that the sun runs around the zodiac and begins to transition to the New Year. The celebration lasts for three to seven days. The first day is called "Netmold" (meaning death). People think this day is unlucky, so they don't wash their hair, cut their hair or work. Let's catch the pendulum, race the dragon boat and raise the height.

The next day it was called "net brain" (smelly meaning), which was considered unclean. You should take a bath, wash your hair, get a haircut, change clothes, wash Buddha statues and pagodas, hold performances at night, set off fireworks and lanterns, and send away all diseases, disasters, filth and cleanliness in one year to enter the new year. In the Dai calendar, these two days are considered as "empty days", not counting the old year or the new year. The third day is the first day of New Year's Day, which is called "overlord horse" (meaning God, also meaning the beginning of a year).

Expand the source of data legend

According to legend, the hometown of the Dai people is very beautiful and the people's life is very comfortable. Suddenly one day, a fire demon came, doing all kinds of evil, making the hometown of Dai people unbearable and barren. People gnash their teeth at it and have been looking for opportunities to destroy it.

Then something even more incredible happened. The fire devil took seven beautiful girls. There is a youngest girl named Nan Zongbu. One day in June in the Dai calendar, she managed to win the favor of the fire devil and accompany him to drink. When the fire demon was drunk, Nan Zongbu tried his best to tout the fire demon's skill, saying that he was not afraid of anything and could do anything in heaven and earth. Because the fire demon was drunk and proud, he said, I'm not afraid of anything, but I'm afraid of the same thing, afraid that my hair will tie my neck.

Nan Zongbu took advantage of the fire demon's snoring to sleep. He tore a long hair from the fire demon's head and wrapped it around its neck. Sure enough, her head fell off. She was very happy, thinking that the fire demon was completely dead, but she never imagined that wherever her head rolled, it would ignite a raging fire. Nan Zongbu let out a cry and the other six sisters came running. One of them hastily raised the fire demon's head and suddenly found that it went out when its head left the ground. Hardly had it been put underground when it caught fire again.

In this way, seven people took turns holding the fire demon's head. Because this head is very hot, they can only keep watering it to cool it down. They hugged for a year, and they hugged the devil for seven years before they died.

Seven Sisters saved a life. To commemorate their courage and dedication, the Water-Splashing Festival is held every June in the Dai calendar. Young people set off firecrackers, sang and danced, and held dragon boat races for three or four days.

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