Wesak day Celebration

Vesak or Wesak is the most holy day of utmost importance to Buddhists all over the world. It falls on the full-moon day in the month of May and commemorates three important events in the life of the Buddha - his birth, enlightenment and Mahaparinibbana.

Wesak is celebrated as a religious and a cultural festival in Sri Lanka on the full moon of the month of May, for a duration of one week.During this week, the selling of alcohol and flesh is usually prohibited, with abattoirs also being closed.Celebrations include various religious and alms giving activities. Electrically lit pandols called toranas are erected in various locations in Colombo and elsewhere, most sponsored by donors, religious societies and welfare groups. Each pandol illustrates a story from the 550 Jataka Katha or the 550 Past Life Stories of the Buddha. In addition, colourful lanterns called Wesak koodu are hung along streets and in front of homes. They signify the light of the Buddha, Dharma and the Sangha. Food stalls set up by Buddhist devotees called dansälas provide free food and drinks to passersby. Groups of people from various community organisations, businesses and government departments sing bhakti gee or Buddhist devotional songs.

The celebration for the Wesak day begins much before the dawn when the Buddhists gather in Buddhist temples for worship all over Malaysia. The celebration is done with prayers, chants, offerings and giving alms. The Buddhist eat a vegetarian diet prior to the festival in order to cleanse and purify themselves. Doves and tortoises are released on the Wesak Day as a symbolic gesture of releasing the soul and giving up the past sins. Free meals are also given to the needy on the Wesak Day. Besides that, there is the annual candle-light procession attracts thousands of devotees and worshippers because they also believe that participation in it and walking the whole route enable them to overcome their difficulties through the grace of the Holy Triple Gem. Many elderly and infirm devotees even come with the faith that some of their ailments could be cured or at least allayed in severity by merely walking the whole route of the procession while paying homage to the Buddha, chanting suttas and radiating loving-kindness to all living beings. So strong is their faith that they manage to complete the whole route, despite aches and pains in their limbs, which miraculously disappear while their minds are concentrated on the procession. There are also many who undergo a profound change in their practice of the Buddhist religion, which they claim to profess, after participating in the procession. The success in bringing about a beneficial self-improvement in our Buddhists justifies the heavy financial expenditure involved in the organization of a procession of this nature.

Every country has it's own unique ways of celebrating the Wesak day festival. Some of the celebrations are the same and some are different.