China New Year is one of the most important festivals in China. Every nation has its own customs and habits, and the time of Chinese New Year may be different. Dai people have a long history and rich culture. The Dai people's New Year is the Songkran Festival, which is in April of the solar calendar and the seventh day after Tomb-Sweeping Day.

Calendar custom of Dai nationality

The main festivals of the Dai people are the Dai calendar New Year-Songkran Festival, Prototyping Festival and Open Day. "Water-splashing Festival" is a new traditional festival for Dai people to get rid of old cloth, which is held in the middle of April in the solar calendar. The main activities during the festival are offering sacrifices to ancestors, building sand, splashing water, losing packets, dragon boat racing, setting off sparks and indulging in singing and dancing. Xishuangbanna Dai Garden, where there is the oldest Dai-style diaojiao building, can see the most primitive way of splashing water, as well as the traditional intangible activities of the Dai people such as sand piling, pottery making, spinning and cockfighting.

The Songkran Festival lasts for three days, and the daily itinerary is different, including carving Buddha statues, building sand and shooting birds. Now there are new contents such as cultural performances and exhibitions. The activities of the Songkran Festival are rich in content, people are dressed in costumes, and the scene is very lively.