Unique tradition at Miao Sisters Festival in Thailand: Colorful rice speaks to the heart, girls choose their partners by giving 'Sisters Rice'

This picture is from Bangkok, the capital of Thailand, where the famous 'Miao Sisters Festival' of the Miao community was celebrated. Meanwhile, the girls participated in the parade wearing their cultural attire and engraved silver ornaments. This is mainly a festival in China, where the Miao community has the largest population. Apart from this, this festival is also celebrated in countries like Thailand and Vietnam. On this day, boys and girls meet each other by singing traditional songs, playing musical instruments and dancing and choose their partners. The most special tradition of this festival is 'Sisters Rice'. On this occasion, colourful rice is cooked using the leaves and flowers of trees. The girls keep this special rice in handkerchiefs or baskets and gift it to the youths. Other small symbols given along with rice signify the message of love, rejection or friendship among the youth. According to the history and legend of the Miao sisters' feast festival, there was a time when an old man and his wife had three beautiful daughters. One day, while they were playing by the riverbank, the girls felt the pain of loneliness and love. The bearded god, Zhang Guolao, entered the girls' souls and asked them to make five-colored rice rolls filled with shrimp, fish, and other special ingredients. When the young men came down from the mountain, the beautiful girls presented them with rice and they began to love them. China's Sisters Meal Festival is deeply rooted in the Miao culture, which is hundreds of years old. It originally began as a love-ritual in which young Miao girls would prepare special meals and present gifts to the grooms who wanted to get married. The meal wrapped in colourful silk and adorned with symbolic decorations conveyed cryptic messages about a woman's feelings for her lover. Inside the rice packets, different items symbolized different emotions, two chopsticks symbolized interest, while one chilli symbolized rejection.