Buddha's Birthday

From Buddhist Encyclopedia

This article deals with the East Asian holiday. See also Vesak.

Lotus Lantern Festival celebrating Buddha's Birthday, in South Korea

Buddha's Birthday; Cantonese: fātdáahn), the birthday of the Gautama Buddha traditionally celebrated in East Asia on the eighth day of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, is a holiday in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and South Korea. The date varies from year to year in the Western (Gregorian) calendar:

• 2003: May 8
• 2004: May 26
• 2005: May 15 (This is a Sunday, hence May 16 becomes a holiday in Hong Kong and Macau.)
• 2006: May 5
• 2007: May 24
• [2008: May 12
• 2009: May 2
• 2010: May 21
• 2011: May 10
• 2012: April 28

In Japan, Buddha's Birthday is celebrated on April 8, but is not a national holiday. It is also known as 'Flower Festival' (Japanese: Hana-matsuri or Kanbutsu-e). Children traditionally drink ama-cha, a beverage prepared from a variety of hydrangea.

Some places have a public holiday one week later, on the fifteen day of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, to coincide with the full moon. For instance, Visakha Bucha in Thailand or Lễ Phật đản in Vietnam is such a holiday on May 12 in 2006]. (For future dates, add 7 days to the above list.)

The birth of the Buddha (Buddha Purnima in India) is often celebrated by Buddhists for an entire month. Please see Vesak for details.

See also

• Public holidays in Hong Kong
  • Bun Festival - a festival held on the same day in Hong Kong
• Public holidays in Macau
• Public holidays in South Korea
• Holidays in Taiwan
• Holidays of Japan
  • Hanami
• Holidays in Vietnam
• Public holidays in Thailand