Every Songkran Festival, Dai people will collect some flowers and leaves on the nearby mountains. On the day of the festival, Dai men, women and children put on festive costumes and carried clear water. They first went to the Buddhist temple to bathe the Buddha, then dipped the collected flowers and leaves in the water and began to splash water on each other. You splash me, I splash you, and the spray blooms in the air, symbolizing auspiciousness, happiness and health. The bright and glittering water drops in the hands of young people also symbolize sweet love. Everyone threw water at each other, and there were baptisms, blessings and songs everywhere.
Packet loss is a special game for unmarried Dai youth. This bag is a symbol of love. It is carefully made by Dai girls with cotton seeds. The four corners of the bag are decorated with colorful flowers. When the bag was lost, men and women stood in a row on the grassy lawn. First, Dai girls throw bags to boys, and then boys throw bags to girls to express their feelings. In this way, flowers fly around, and finally the feelings communicate to a certain extent. The two sides quietly withdrew from the packet loss field and found a quiet place to whisper to each other.
The historical origin of the Songkran Festival;
The Songkran Festival originated in India. With the deepening influence of Buddhism in Dai areas, the Water-splashing Festival has been circulated as a national custom for hundreds of years. Every festival, Dai men, women and children should wear festive costumes, and women should each pick a load of clear water to meet the Buddha and pray for his blessing. After the "Buddha bath", people began to splash water on each other to express their blessings, hoping to wash away diseases and disasters with holy water in exchange for a better and happier life. The collective splashing of water on each other began.
People fill all kinds of containers with water, pour them out of the streets, chase and play, and throw them at everyone. Dip the branches in water gracefully. "Water splashing will make the Dai family prosperous" and "Wet will make you happy for life"! The waves symbolizing auspiciousness, happiness and health are blooming in the air. People are splashing, laughing loudly, soaking wet and in high spirits. At night, the village is full of gongs and drums, and people indulge in singing and dancing, which is very lively.
During the whole festival, in addition to traditional entertainment activities such as dragon boat racing, flying high, flying lanterns, splashing water and changing bags, there are also new activities such as cockfighting, flying balloons, garden parties and material exchange. Dai and Wa men and women in Yunnan minority villages are also dressed in costumes to celebrate the Water-splashing Festival with tourists.