Torch Festival

Torch Festival

24th through 26th days of sixth lunar monthThe Torch Festival is a traditional holiday of many of the Yi people in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces in China. Revelers dress in fine clothes, and the girls are especially colorful in embroidered gowns and headdresses of all colors. Celebrations begin with the sound of firecrackers, followed by folk dancing, athletic contests in such sports as pole-climbing and wrestling, and a bullfight. At night, huge bonfires are lit, dancers whirl around them, and a parade of people carrying torches brightens the night.
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