Buddha’s birthday, known in some countries as Vesak, is observed on different dates depending on the Buddhist tradition and where followers live. An Associated Press overview said that in several Asian countries the day is observed on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunisolar calendar—this year May 15—while in several South and Southeast Asian countries it is celebrated on the first full moon of May, which this year is May 23.
The holy occasion marks the birth of the historical Buddha, also called Shakyamuni Buddha, who is described as Prince Siddhartha in Buddhist tradition. The AP said the timing depends on the school of Buddhism or the country to which a person belongs, so different communities keep the day on different dates even though they mark the same central figure.
The AP described Buddhist lore about Siddhartha’s birth and early life. It says Siddhartha was born in Lumbini, described as being at the border of what is India and Nepal today, and that his mother, Maya, was the wife of Suddhodana, king of the Shakya clan. In the tradition recounted by the AP, when Maya conceived she dreamed an auspicious white elephant entered her womb.
The story also describes miraculous details surrounding the birth. The AP said multiple texts recount that the newborn was received by the gods Indra and Brahma and that the baby took seven steps soon after being born. It also said the legend includes a cleansing bath from the gods—or, in some versions, dragon kings—depending on where the legend originated.
After describing Siddhartha’s early life, the AP said the prince began reflecting after witnessing sickness, old age and death, despite the sheltering efforts of his father. It said Siddhartha then engaged in six years of ascetic practice and attained enlightenment at age 35 in Bodh Gaya in northeast India, before becoming known as the Buddha, meaning “the awakened one.”
Across many places in Asia, the AP said Buddhists use the day not only to celebrate but also to reflect on the Buddha’s teachings and what it means to practice the faith. In many Asian cultures and in Buddhist communities outside Asia, the AP said people go to local temples for chanting and meditation and take part in festivities throughout the day, while families decorate their homes with lanterns and gather for feasts.
In South Korea, the AP said Buddha’s birthday is a national holiday. It described Seoul’s centerpiece celebration as the lotus lantern festival called Yeondeunghoe, a parade of thousands of colorful, lighted paper lanterns often shaped like lotus flowers, which are hung in temples and streets; it also said many temples provide free meals and tea to visitors and that festivities in temple yards and parks include traditional games and performing arts displays, with the lighted displays symbolized as the light of Buddha’s teachings.
North Korea observes the day differently, the AP said. It reported that while Buddha’s birthday is not an official holiday there, it has been observed in Buddhist temples since 1988, and that in 2018 monks in North and South Korea held joint services when animosities eased—though it said such exchange programs have been stalled in recent years due to tensions over North Korea’s nuclear program.
The AP also described country-specific rituals. In China, it said believers take part in a bathing ceremony that involves pouring scented blessed water over a statue of the infant Buddha with the right forefinger pointed upward toward the sky and the left forefinger pointed down to the Earth. In Japan, it said April 8 is observed as Buddha’s birthday and is celebrated in Buddhist temples as Hana Matsuri, meaning flower festival, where a decorated “flower hall” is set up and devotees pour sweet tea on the head of a baby Buddha statue, while priests perform the Kambutsu-e nativity festival recreating Buddha’s birth in the garden of Lumbini.
In South and Southeast Asia, the AP said the holiday is marked on the full moon of the second lunar month known as Vesakha or Vaisakha, and noted that the Sanskrit word for full moon is Purnima—making the occasion also known as Buddha Purnima. The AP said the Mahabodhi Temple in Bodh Gaya is decorated on this day and devotees perform special prayers under the bodhi tree where the Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment, and it said that in India and Nepal sweet rice porridge is served to recall the story of Sujata, a maiden who offered the Buddha a bowl of milk porridge.
The AP also reported additional practices in parts of the region. It said in Malaysia and China some people set free caged animals and birds on Buddha’s birthday because they believe it is good karma, while in Sri Lanka celebrants decorate homes and streets with candles and paper and bamboo lanterns, with festivities featuring devotional songs, decorative structures called “pandals,” burning incense and electric light displays depicting stories from Buddha’s life. In Vietnam, the AP said Buddha’s birthday remains popular but not a public holiday, and that it was a public holiday from 1958 to 1975 in what was formerly South Vietnam.