Wesak Day
Wesak Day / Vesak Day 2013 Year | Date | Day | State | 2013 | 24 May | Friday | National |
Wesak, also spelt Vesak, is a day celebrated by Buddhists around the world. The termVesak came from the name of a month in the Indian calendar.
This is one of the most important festivals in the Buddhist calendar as it commemorates three significant events in Gautama Buddha’s life namely his birthday, enlightenment and his passing away.
During this festival, devotees will bring offerings of flowers, joss-sticks and candles. This is to remind them that just as flowers wither and die and joss sticks and candles burn away, so too is life – temporary.
Besides that, local temples will carry out special services and various welfare activities such as providing vegetarian meals to the poor and needy. In some countries, Buddhists free captive birds as a sign of liberation from captivity. The ‘Bathing the Buddha’ ceremony is important and often a part of the celebration where water is poured over the shoulders of the Buddha. This serves to remind fellow Buddhists to purify the mind from greed, lead noble lives and practise morality and kindness.
To top it off, a candle procession will be held in the evening and this includes the traditional dragon and lion dances. This will be the highlight of the public holiday as people of different religion and races gather to watch the procession.
Different countries may celebrate Wesak Day in different ways. This being how over the years religions have spread and cultures assimilated into one another. It is considered a public holiday in most of the South East Asia countries like Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Malaysia,Thailand and Singapore but most of all, it is a celebration of much colours and joy.
today i woke up at 11.40am. well, it was a Wesak Day and i would like to wish anyone who celebrate this day a Happy Wesak day. actually when writing this post i still feel like writing an annual report again because i will look back the Wesak
Wesak, also spelt Vesak, is a day celebrated by Buddhists around the world. The termVesak came from the name of a month in the Indian calendar.
This is one of the most important festivals in the Buddhist calendar as it commemorates three significant events in Gautama Buddha’s life namely his birthday, enlightenment and his passing away.
During this festival, devotees will bring offerings of flowers, joss-sticks and candles. This is to remind them that just as flowers wither and die and joss sticks and candles burn away, so too is life – temporary.
Besides that, local temples will carry out special services and various welfare activities such as providing vegetarian meals to the poor and needy. In some countries, Buddhists free captive birds as a sign of liberation from captivity. The ‘Bathing the Buddha’ ceremony is important and often a part of the celebration where water is poured over the shoulders of the Buddha. This serves to remind fellow Buddhists to purify the mind from greed, lead noble lives and practise morality and kindness.
To top it off, a candle procession will be held in the evening and this includes the traditional dragon and lion dances. This will be the highlight of the public holiday as people of different religion and races gather to watch the procession.
Different countries may celebrate Wesak Day in different ways. This being how over the years religions have spread and cultures assimilated into one another. It is considered a public holiday in most of the South East Asia countries like Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Malaysia,Thailand and Singapore but most of all, it is a celebration of much colours and joy.
today i woke up at 11.40am. well, it was a Wesak Day and i would like to wish anyone who celebrate this day a Happy Wesak day. actually when writing this post i still feel like writing an annual report again because i will look back the Wesak