Water-Sprinkling Festival

The Water-Sprinkling Festival or Water-Splashing Festival (simplified Chinese 泼水节 ; traditional Chinese 潑水節; Pinyin: Pōshuǐ jié), is a major and traditional festival of the Dai nationality marking the New Year, and shares similar roots with the Songkran (Thailand). The Dai are an ethnic minority of China who primarily live in the Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture and Dehong Dai and Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture in southern Yunnan, and their predominant religion is Theravada Buddhism. This festival occurs on the 6th month of the Dai calendar, which usually corresponds to mid-April of the Gregorian calendar. Additionally, it is known as the Festival for Bathing the Buddha, and typically lasts for three days.[1]

On the first day, a variety of activities such as dragon boat races (held on the Lancang River), setting off of Dai rockets (放高升), and cultural and artistic performances are carried out. On the second day, water-splashing activities are enjoyed. The third and final day also coincides with New Year's Day, where people dress up in traditional garb and visit the temple. Water-splashing activities are carried out in the afternoon, where firstly, the women would clean statues of Buddha with water to obtain blessings; thereafter, individuals splash water on each other to symbolise not only good fortune, but also the "cleansing of illnesses and disasters". Furthermore, men and women take part in activities such as the exchange of small gifts and "losing of items", which are believed to bring good luck.[2][3][4][5][6]