- Observed: Aug. 13 to Aug. 15
- Area: Yunnan
The Torch Festival falls between 24th day to the multi day of the 6th lunar month. It is a common conventional celebration of the Yi, Naxi, and Bai people groups in southwestern China.
The Light Celebration is a compelling occasion to the Yi, for example, is the Spring Celebration for the Han public. For three days, people, youthful and old, convey flaring lights and take part in various exercises. The Celebration likewise presents a decent chance for young fellows and ladies to meet their planned life partners.
During the Celebration, lights are raised before each family, and a heap of faggots a few meters high is raised in the focal point of a square. At the point when dusks and gongs and horns are sounded, individuals of any age approach to light the faggot heap. Merry blazes jump up to the sky, snapping and spluttering. Yells of bliss along with the gongs and drums make an ocean of cheering.
People two by two structure lines confronting each other on a fix of grass. The men play three-stringed instruments while the ladies kick and applaud to the beat. Nibble sellers make the most of the event, pitching stalls under obscure trees where individuals can rest and appreciate rewards prior to continuing with the day’s exercises.
This gathering is a decent opportunity for young fellows and ladies to view as their “Ashima” or “Sibling Ahei,” giving specific consideration to their outfits. Young ladies wear a firm, three-sided piece of texture on one or the other side of their hat to draw in the consideration of young fellows. In any case, no young fellow ought to at any point contact this trimming, or he will be compelled to work for quite a long time at the young lady’s home. On their big day, young ladies eliminate the two triangles and lay them level on top of their heads to represent conjugal harmony and happiness.When a young fellow picks a specific young lady, he grabs away her weaved belt. This training can be followed back to the antiquated Yi marriage custom in which the husband professes to hijack his lady. Assuming that the young lady returns his adoration, she permits him to court her. If not, she puts on another belt, permitting the man to keep the one he had “taken.”
Liangshan Prefecture in Sichuan Area has the biggest Yi ethnic local area in China. The Light Celebration held in Liangshan takes puts every year on the 24th day of the 6th lunar month.
