ArleneLigertwood at 03:42, 1 June 2026

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This is a list of [[holiday]]s and [[festival]]s celebrated within the [[Buddhist]] tradition.

==Holidays==
*[[Vesak]]: The Buddha's birthday is known as Vesak and is one of the major festivals of the year. It is celebrated on the first moon day in May, or the fourth lunar month which usually occurs in May or during a lunar leap year, June. In some countries this has become an occasion to not only celebrate the birth but also the enlightenment and parinirvana of the Buddha.<ref name="about">{{cite web|title=Buddhist Holidays 2013|url=http://buddhism.about.com/od/buddhistholidays/tp/buddhistholidays.htm|publisher=[[About.com]]|access-date=April 28, 2013|archive-date=February 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218185508/http://buddhism.about.com/od/buddhistholidays/tp/buddhistholidays.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[Parinirvana Day]]: also known as Nirvana Day, a [[Mahayana]] [[Buddhist]] [[holiday]] celebrated in [[East Asia]], [[Vietnam]] and the [[Philippines]] usually on February 15.
*[[Magha Puja]]: Magha Puja is an important religious festival celebrated by Buddhists in Thailand, Cambodia, Sri Lanka and Laos on the full moon day of the third lunar month (this usually falls in February or March)
*[[Buddha Jayanti]]: In South Korea, the Philippines, Vietnam and China, it is celebrated in April 8 in Lunar calendar. Also known as "Hanamatsuri",<ref name="about"/> it is celebrated April 8. In Japan, baby Buddha figurines are ceremonially washed with tea.<ref name="about"/>
*[[Asalha Puja]] Day: Also known as "Dharma Day" celebrates the Buddha's first teaching on the full moon day of the 8th lunar month, approximately July.<ref name="buddhanet">{{cite web|title=Festivals and Special Days|url=http://www.buddhanet.net/festival.htm|publisher=Buddhanet|access-date=April 28, 2013}}</ref>
*[[Uposatha]]: This day is known as observance day, there are four holy days on the new moon, full moon, and quarter moon days every month.<ref name="buddhanet"/>
*[[Kathina]] Ceremony: This robe offering ceremony, is held on any date within the end of the [[Vassa|Vassa Retreat]]. New robes and other requisites can be offered by the laity to the monks.
*[[Abhidhamma Day]]: According to [[Culture of Burma|Burmese]] tradition, this day celebrates when the Buddha went to the [[Tushita|Tushita Heaven]] to teach his mother the Abhidhamma. It is celebrated on the full moon of the seventh month the Burmese lunar year which starts in April.<ref name="buddhanet"/><ref>{{cite book|last=Melton|first=J. Gordon|title=Religious Celebrations: An Encyclopedia of Holidays, Festivals, Solemn Observances, and Spiritual Commemorations|date=13 September 2011|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=lD_2J7W_2hQC&q=%22Abhidhamma+Day%22&pg=PA4|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=9781598842050|page=4}}</ref>
*[[Loy Krathong]]: When the rivers and canals are full of water, this festival takes place in all parts of Thailand on the full moon night of the twelfth lunar month. Bowls made with leaves, candles, and incense sticks, are in the water, and represent bad luck disappearing.<ref name="buddhanet"/>
*[[Madhu Purnima]]: It occurs on the day of the full moon in [[Bhadro]] (August/September). The day commemorates an occasion on which the Buddha retreated to the wilderness of Parileyya forest to bring peace between two quarrelling factions of disciples.<ref name="buddhanet"/>
*[[Royal Ploughing Ceremony|The Ploughing Festival]]: During the half moon in May, two oxen pull a plough painted gold. Following behind them are girls dressed in white scattering rice seeds. This was to celebrate the Buddha's first moment of enlightenment.<ref name="buddhanet"/>
*The Elephant Festival: The Buddha used an example of a wild elephant which is harnessed to a tame one to be trained. He said that a person who is new to Buddhism should have a special relationship with an older Buddhist. This festival takes place on the third Saturday in November.<ref name="buddhanet"/>
*[[Kandy Esala Perahera|The Festival of the Tooth]]: In Sri Lanka there is a temple that houses a tooth relic of the Buddha. It can't be seen, but once a year there is a procession for it on the full moon in August.<ref name="buddhanet"/>
*[[Ghost Festival|Hungry Ghost Festival]]: "Ancestor Day" or "Ulambana" is celebrated from the first to the fifteenth days of the eighth lunar month. This is the day when the monastics complete their Rains Retreat. It was considered that many monastics would have made progress during their retreat and therefore become a greater field of merit. Lay devotees make offerings on behalf of their ancestors and dedicate the merit towards those suffering in the preta realm to relieve their suffering.<ref name="buddhanet"/>
*Avalokitesvara's Birthday: This festival celebrates the [[Bodhisattva]] ideal. On the full moon day in March, it represents the perfection of compassion in Mahayana traditions of Tibet, China, Vietnam and the Philippines.
*[[Bodhi Day]]: The holiday which commemorates the day that the historical Buddha experienced enlightenment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://familydharma.pulelehuadesign.com/bodhi.htm|title=Buddhist Holidays|publisher=Family Dharma|access-date=April 28, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171206005817/http://familydharma.pulelehuadesign.com/bodhi.htm|archive-date=December 6, 2017|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="about"/>

== Festivals ==
[[File:Sky Lantern.jpg|thumb|150px|Buddhists fly lanterns during the Pavāraṇā ceremony in [[Bandarban]], Bangladesh]]
[[China|Chinese]], [[Korea|Korean]], [[Japan]]ese, [[Vietnam|Vietnamese]], [[List of Burmese traditional festivals|Burmese]], [[Cambodia|Khmer]], [[Tibetan festivals|Tibetan]], [[India]]n, [[Nepal]]ese, [[Bhutan]]ese, [[Chakma people|Chakma]], [[Marma people|Marma]] and [[Barua (Bangladesh)|Barua]] festivals often show the influence of [[Buddhist culture]]. [[Pagoda festival]]s in Myanmar are one example. In Tibet, India and Bhutan these festivals may include the traditional [[cham dance]].

[[Lunar New Year]] festivals of Buddhist countries in east, south and southeast Asia also include some aspects of Buddhist culture, but they are considered cultural festivals as opposed to religious ones.

{{incomplete list|date=October 2017}}

=== A ===

* [[Ambedkar Jayanti]]
* [[Aluth Sahal Mangallaya]]
* [[Asalha Puja]] (or Dharma Day)

=== B ===

* [[Barua festivals]]
* [[Bhumchu]]
* [[Bodhi Day]]
* [[Bon Festival]]
* [[Bon Om Touk]]
* [[Boun Suang Huea]]
* [[Buddha's Birthday]]
* [[Bunga Dyah Jatra]]

=== C ===

* [[Chak phra]]
* [[Cheung Chau Bun Festival]]
* [[Chotrul Duchen]]
* [[Choul Chnam Thmey]]

=== D ===

* [[Dhammachakra Pravartan Din]]
* [[Diwali]]
* [[Dongzhi Festival]]
* [[Deezezazu]]

=== F ===

* [[Festival of Floral Offerings]]

=== G ===

* [[Ghost Festival]]
* [[Gozan no Okuribi]]
* [[Gunla]]
* [[Gunla Bajan]]
* [[Guru Purnima]]

=== H ===

* [[Hari-Kuyo]]
* [[Hungry ghost]]

=== J ===

* [[Jana Baha Dyah Jatra]]

=== K ===

* [[Kagyed]]
* [[Kandy Esala Perahera]]
* [[Kathina]]

=== L ===

* [[Lhabab Duchen]]
* [[Loi Krathong]]

=== M ===

* [[Madhu Purnima]]
* [[Magha Puja]]
* [[Mohani]]
* [[Monlam Prayer Festival]]

=== O ===

* [[Ōmisoka]]

=== P ===

* [[Pagoda festival]]
* [[Parinirvana Day]]
* [[Pavāraṇā]]
* [[Phi Ta Khon]]
* [[Poy Sang Long]]
* [[Poson]]

=== R ===

* [[Rocket Festival]]

=== S ===

* [[Sambuddhatva jayanthi]]
* [[Samyak]]
* [[Sanghamitta]]
* [[Sangrai festival in Bangladesh|Sangrai]] (New year Water Festival Celebrated by [[Marma people|Marma]] and [[Rakhine people|Rakhine People]] in Bangladesh)
* [[Sanja Matsuri]]
* [[Setsubun]]
* [[Shuilu Fahui]]
* [[Songkran]]
* [[Songkran (Lao)]]
* [[Songkran (Thailand)]]
* [[Swanti (festival)]]

=== T ===

* [[Tak Bat Thewo]]
* [[Tango no sekku]]
* [[Tazaungdaing festival]]
* [[Tết]]
* [[Thadingyut Festival]]
* [[Thingyan]]
* [[Tibetan festivals]]
* [[Torgya]]
* [[Tshechu]]

=== U ===

* [[Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival]]
* [[Uposatha]]

=== V ===

* [[Vassa]]
* [[Vesak]]

=== W ===

* [[Kathina|Wacho]] (Start of Rain Retreat by [[Marma people|Marma]] People and [[Rakhine people|Rakhine People]])
* [[Wan Ok Phansa]]
* [[Kathina|Wagyowai]] (End of Rain Retreat by [[Marma people|Marma]] People and [[Rakhine people|Rakhine People]])
* [[Water-Sprinkling Festival]]

=== Y ===

* [[Yenya]]
* [[Yeongsanjae]]

== See also ==
* [[Buddhist calendar]]
* [[Culture of Buddhism]]
* [[Religious festival]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Buddhism topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buddhist festivals}}
[[Category:Buddhist holidays| ]]
[[Category:Buddhist festivals| ]]
[[Category:Buddhism-related lists|Festivals]]
[[Category:Lists of observances]]
[[Category:Lists of religious festivals]]
[[Category:Lists of festivals in Asia]]

Buddhist holidays - Revision history

ArleneLigertwood at 03:42, 1 June 2026