When is the Dai People's Songkran Festival? What are the customs?

The main festivals of Dai people are "Harvest Festival", "Opening Festival" and Water-splashing Festival. The "Zen Festival" is in the middle of July, which is a busy farming season. Most Buddhist festivals are concentrated in this period, so as to concentrate on production. At the same time, a grand "Buddha worship" activity will be held to offer food, flowers, silver coins and paper money to the Buddha. The "liquidation date" will last for about three months until the "opening date" in the middle of 10.

The biggest festival of the Dai people is the Water-splashing Festival. The time is April every year. According to the time series, April in the solar calendar is equivalent to the first month in the Dai calendar. Songkran Festival is also the New Year of Dai people. According to the traditional custom, early in the morning, people will bring flowers and green leaves to the Buddhist temple for sacrifice and clear water to welcome the Buddha. After all this, large-scale splashing water on each other began. I saw groups of young men and women, filled with water in copper bowls and washbasins, pouring out of the street, playing and chasing, splashing on everyone and getting soaked from head to toe. This is auspicious water, blessed water. People spilled and dumped to their heart's content. No matter who is splashed, he is extremely happy and laughs loudly. ...

During the Songkran Festival, a dragon boat race will be held on the vast Lancang River. The water boat will be decorated with colorful flowers, dressed as Jackie Chan, peacock and big fish, and dozens of young men and women will paddle hard. The audience on both sides of the strait will be like a cloud, and the sound of gongs and drums and cheers will resound through the sky.

At night, there will be fireworks in the village, which are made by the Dai people themselves. Use a bamboo dozens of feet long, fill the root with gunpowder and other ingredients, and put it on the elevated bamboo. When the fuse is lit and the gunpowder burns, bamboo flies into the sky like a rocket, emitting gorgeous fireworks in the air, just like flowers, the stars are shining and dazzling, making the night sky of the festival particularly beautiful.

Young Dai men and women like the game of throwing chaff bags. During the Spring Festival, boys and girls throw chaff bags at each other to see who can catch them accurately. After playing for a certain period of time, the girls quietly grabbed the broadsword, wrapped cloth or tied horse worn by the young man and ran home. If a young man has feelings, follow him. When parents saw their daughter coming back with a headscarf and a good horse, they gave a banquet.

In addition, April 13 every year is the Dai calendar New Year, and it is also the most solemn festival of the Dai people-the Water Splashing Festival. They regard splashing water as a symbol of exorcism and decontamination, and also regard this day as the most beautiful and auspicious day.

Songkran Festival is a popular festival, and a happy festival usually takes three to five days.