By Vesak is celebrated this year today, May 23, by many Buddhists. This most sacred day for millions of followers marks the birth of Siddhartha Gautama the Buddha, more than 2,600 years ago, in the village of Lumbini, Nepal.
This Buddhist festival is not fixed to a date in the Gregorian calendar. Vesak, in most countries, is celebrated on the day of the full moon in the month of May. This day corresponds to the first full moon of the ancient Indian lunar month of Vesakha, from which it derives its name.
This celebration is part of the Theravada tradition of Buddhism, whose followers mainly reside in South and Southeast Asia. In addition to marking the birth of Buddha, it is also the day celebrating his enlightenment and death — or parinirvana (final nirvana) — in his 80th year. This festival thus commemorates the three essential stages of the life of the founder of one of the world’s oldest religions.
Lanterns and lights
The day is celebrated in all Buddhist tradition countries. It is even an official holiday in Nepal, Sri Lanka, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Macau. Each of these countries practices different traditions. In Korea, lotus-shaped lanterns are hung in the streets and used to decorate temples.
In Sri Lanka, followers decorate the streets with lights while slaughterhouses and bars close for two days. In other countries, captive animals are set free, symbolizing the liberation brought by Buddha.
Japan celebrates this anniversary on April 8, during a festival called Hana Matsuri, or Flower Festival. Temple visitors bring flowers, and children pour sake over statuettes representing the child Buddha.
A festival celebrated by the UN
The Vesak festival gained new importance in 1950, following a decision by the World Fellowship of Buddhists to make it the international Buddha Day to unify a religion marked by its extreme diversity.
This day has also been the occasion for significant political events. In 1952, independence activists chose it to raise the Buddhist flag on a temple in the city of Colombo, Sri Lanka, marking the rise of a nationalist and Buddhist movement on the island.
The Buddha’s birthday is the only religious-origin festival celebrated by the United Nations since 1999, aiming to “acknowledge the contribution that Buddhism, one of the world’s oldest religions, has made for over 2,500 years and continues to make to the spirituality of humanity.”
