Buddha Day 2024 is on Monday, May 6, 2024: Vesak (Buddha Day) ?

Monday, May 6, 2024 is Buddha Day 2024. Vesākha (Pali;, Sinhala: වෙසක් පෝය, Devanagari: वैशाख, , Bengali: বুদ্ধ পূর্ণিমা or ভেসাক, Thai: วิสาขบูชา), Wesak or Vesak also known as Buddha Purnima is a holy day observed traditionally by Buddhists in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and the South East Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Vesākha (Pali;, Sinhala: වෙසක් පෝය, Devanagari: वैशाख, , Bengali: বুদ্ধ পূর্ণিমা or ভেসাক, Thai: วิสาขบูชา), Wesak or Vesak also known as Buddha Purnima is a holy day observed traditionally by Buddhists in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and the South East Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Buddha Day is additionally called Vesak Day, or Teacher's Day. Buddhists celebrate today as the Buddha's (Shakyamuni) Birthday. It is considered by most to be the most vital day in Buddhism and most Buddhists invest the day in contemplation of the Buddha's life and knowledge. Parties outside the holy places usually entail ceremonial bird launches and some regional traditions or society into the events.

Occasions at the holy places commonly entail visitor presenters as well as chanting and hoping and providings to the Buddha statue (generally herbivorous in line with Buddhist ideas) in regard for his life and teachings.

There are numerous regional variants in the days whereupon Buddha Day is observed (varying in the Gregorian calendar in between April and May)-- for simpleness we have concentrated on the most generally well known day in all eastern Asian countries (omitting Japan), which takes place on the 8th day of the Fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar.

hey i'm a buddhist and i will answer your question...

this year it is May 8th. usually in vesak, we do a lot of fun things and religeos things.. we have these coloured paper buckets, we light a candle inside these buckets and hang them on trees.. so if u go around the city in vesak, u will find the whole city lighted with coloured buckets.. and we also make these huge things with coloured paper and fix motors in them so they turn and many more stuff... they are called vesak lanterns.. search google for pics.. and on vesak day we all visit buddhist temples... and we also do this thing called vesak dansal (only sri lankan buddhists do that), we cook a lot of food ar drinks and serve them to the people in the street (for free we even stop cars that are on the street and serve them.....then your nxt question, usually buddhists wear white dresses when they visit a buddhist temple... and there is no specific food that we eat on that day.. its mainly the national food of that country that we eat on tht day...but if you want some(sri lankan), we eat KIRI BATH (milk rice) and KAWUM (its a sweet) on special occassions... and there is no vesak songs... vesak is honestly for me is the best day of the year.. because as i said before, its a lot of fun and you really feel the spirit of buddhism...w/e... hehe... nyways hope this helps... sorry if it's too long... and if u need anything else e-mail me on harindra_317@hotmail.com

Vesak or Visakah Puja or Buddha Day?

This day celebrates Buddha's birthday, which occurred 2,500 years ago - traditionally in 563 BCE.

Buddhist temples and centers usually hold a ceremony in honor of this event. The details of the ceremony vary by tradition and country, but it usually includes chanting, ritual offering of food and flowers, and the making of symbolic gifts (for example, in some traditions monastics are given small amounts of money).

In some traditions, a small statue of an infant Buddha is washed and in some traditions paper lanterns are made and used as decorations around the temple.

There is almost always food provided for those who attend the ceremony.

How do people celebrate Buddha day?

So, im not a buddhist myself but i found some useful info that might help. Buddha Day is also known as Wesak.

=]

The festival is celebrated with much colour and gaiety. Homes may be cleaned and decorated. In Thailand, for example, special Wesak lanterns are made of paper and wood, and often there a large ceremonial releases of caged birds.

In many countries during the festival, Buddhists will visit their local temple for services and teaching, and will give offerings to the monks of food, candles and flowers.

Chanting and praying are an important part of Wesak. The 'Bathing the Buddha' ceremony is also often included. Water is poured over the shoulders of the Buddha and serves as a reminder to purify the mind from greed, hatred and ignorance.

Chinese Buddhists incorporate elements of their country's culture into their religious celebrations like the traditional dancing dragons.

Gifts are taken to an altar to be offered to the Buddha statues. This shows respect and gratitude to the Buddha for his life and teachings.

If there is food it is usually vegetarian as Buddhists try not to harm animals.