Blessed Rainy Day is a public and religious holiday observed in Bhutan every year on September 23. This holiday marks the end of the rainy season and is celebrated with purification rituals, as the Bhutanese believe that all natural water bodies become sanctifying on this day. Traditionally, families gather for a meal of thup, a type of porridge, and many participate in outdoor baths to cleanse themselves of accumulated bad karma. The most auspicious time for these purification rituals is determined by astrologists working for the Je Khenpo, Bhutan's senior religious hierarch. Schools, government offices, and institutions are closed in observance of this holiday, which has been celebrated for centuries but was only recently proclaimed a public holiday.