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Water-Sprinkling Festival

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Water-Sprinkling Festival
Also calledDai New Year
Observed byDai people
SignificanceMarks the Dai New Year
Begins13 April
Ends15 April
Date13 April
Frequencyannual
Related toSouth and Southeast Asian solar New Year

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]

Dates in Dai calendar

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Gregorian Date Animal Day of the week Gregorian Date Animal Day of the week
2001 13 April Snake Friday 2026 13 April Horse Tuesday
2002 13 April Horse Saturday 2027 13 April Goat Thursday
2003 13 April Goat Sunday 2028 13 April Monkey Saturday
2004 13 April Monkey Tuesday 2029 13 April Rooster Sunday
2005 13 April Rooster Wednesday 2030 13 April Dog Monday
2006 13 April Dog Thursday 2031 13 April Elephant Tuesday
2007 13 April Elephant Friday 2032 13 April Rat Thursday
2008 13 April Rat Sunday 2033 13 April Ox Friday
2009 13 April Ox Monday 2034 13 April Tiger Saturday
2010 13 April Tiger Tuesday 2035 13 April Rabbit Sunday
2011 13 April Rabbit Wednesday 2036 13 April Dragon Tuesday
2012 13 April Dragon Friday 2037 13 April Snake Wednesday
2013 13 April Snake Saturday 2038 13 April Horse Thursday
2014 13 April Horse Sunday 2039 13 April Goat Friday
2015 13 April Goat Monday 2040 13 April Monkey Sunday
2016 13 April Monkey Wednesday 2041 13 April Rooster Monday
2017 13 April Rooster Thursday 2042 13 April Dog Tuesday
2018 13 April Dog Friday 2043 13 April Elephant Wednesday
2019 13 April Elephant Saturday 2044 13 April Rat Friday
2020 13 April Rat Monday 2045 13 April Ox Saturday
2021 13 April Ox Tuesday 2046 13 April Tiger Sunday
2022 13 April Tiger Thursday 2047 13 April Rabbit Monday
2023 13 April Rabbit Friday 2048 13 April Dragon Wednesday
2024 13 April Dragon Sunday 2049 13 April Snake Thursday
2025 13 April Snake Monday 2050 13 April Horse Friday

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "傣族泼水节-荆楚网 www.cnhubei.com". Cnhubei.com. 2011-07-30. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  2. ^ "云南傣族泼水节-旅游地产-搜狐焦点网". House.focus.cn. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  3. ^ "泼水狂欢_在线视频观看_土豆网视频 泼水节 我爱拼网". Tudou.com. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  4. ^ "泼水节". Archived from the original on October 16, 2011. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  5. ^ "泼水节_旅游频道_新华网". News.xinhuanet.com. Archived from the original on April 16, 2009. Retrieved 2013-10-13.
  6. ^ "傣族泼水节". Archived from the original on April 25, 2012. Retrieved March 11, 2023.