 |
||
|
|
 Important Dates in Buddhism |
|||||||||||||||||
|
The actual date of the
celebration at the temple
will vary. Please consult the YEARLY CALENDAR
for actual dates and times. In addition, different
sects have some days on a
different date. There are many special or holy days held throughout the year by the Buddhist community. Many of these days celebrate the birthdays of Bodhisattvas in the Mahayana tradition or other significant dates in the Buddhist calendar. The most significant celebration happens every May on the night of the full moon, when Buddhist all over the world celebrate the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha over 2,500 years ago. It has become to be known as Buddha Day. Buddhist Festivals are always joyful occasions. Typically on a festival day, lay people will go the the local temple or monastery and offer food to the monks and take the Five Precepts and listen to a Dharma talk. In the afternoon, they distribute food to the poor to make merit and in the evening join perhaps in a ceremony of perambulation a stupa three time as a sign of respect to the Buddha, Dhamma, Sangha. The day will conclude with evening chanting of the Buddha's teachings and meditation.
The
following
is
the dates that may have some celebration at the temple.
There is a nice page, Festivals
and
Special
Days, that lists more special days for all Buddhist.
The Thai Buddhist
Calendar (similar to Laos and Cambodian) has the special days.
Another web page has Buddhist
Holidays
2010. January 1, New Year's Day 2553 (2010) / วันขื้นปีใหม่ In Theravadin countries,
Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Lao, the new year is
celebrated for three days from the first full moon day in April. In
Mahayana countries the new year starts on the first full moon day in
January. However, the Buddhist New Year depends on the country of
origin or ethnic background of the people. As for example, Chinese,
Koreans and Vietnamese celebrate late January or early February
according to the lunar calendar, whilst the Tibetans usually celebrate
about one month later. The Buddhist Calendar
dates from when Buddha was enlightened 543 years before the Common Era
(CE) calendar starts.
This date marks
the beginning of a year of the Metal Tiger. I understand (again, this
is not Buddhist) that a Metal Tiger year tends to be tumultuous. In Tibetan monasteries, observance of Losar
begins during the last days of the old year. Monks perform special
rituals evoking protective deities and clean and decorate the
monasteries. The first day of Losar is a day of elaborate ceremonies,
including dances and recitations of Buddhist teachings. The remaining
two days are for a more secular festival. On the third day, old prayer
flags are replaced with new ones. In
2010, Losar and Chinese New Year fall on the same day, but this is not
always true. In 2009, Losar was a month later than Chinese New Year. Visakha
Puja - falls
on the full moon of the sixth month of the lunar year (around the
middle of May). It is one of the most important days for Buddhists
because on this day the Lord Buddha was born, attained enlightenment,
and died. All three of these significant events fell on the same day.
The day is celebrated in a similar fashion to Magha
Puja day. Asalha
Puja - falls
on the full moon of the eighth lunar month (July) and is also very
important. It was on this day that the Lord Buddha preached His sermon
to followers after attaining enlightenment. The day is usually
celebrated by merit making, listening to a monk’s sermon, and joining a
candle lit procession during the night.
Khao
Phansa - falls
on the first day after the full moon of the eighth lunar month (July)
and marks the beginning of the three-month Buddhist ‘lent’ period. At
this time, all monks and novices must remain in their temples at night.
The exception is an extreme emergency. Even then, their time away must
not exceed seven consecutive nights. This is a time for serious
contemplation and meditation for both monks and laymen alike.
Traditionally, it is also important for laymen to ordain their sons
into the monkhood on this day to get maximum benefit from the Buddhist
teachings.
12 August
2008 Queen's Birthday (Tuesday) Her Majesty the Queen's birthday is a
national holiday in Thailand, also serving as the country's Mothers Day
as well. Ok Phansa
- marks
the end of the Buddhist lent and falls on the full moon of the eleventh
lunar month (October). This is a day of joyful celebration and
merit-making. For many families, it is also the day they welcome a son
back into the home and celebrate his successful completion of a term in
the temple. 23 October 2008 (Thursday)
Chulalongkorn Day Celebrates the birthday of one of Thailand's most
revered kings.
Loy
Krathong Loi Krathong is a religious event
which happens every year on the full moon of the 12th lunar month
(first full moon day of November). All Thai people buy or make a "KRATHONG".
It
is
made
of
Styrofoam surrounded by banana leaves, with flowers,
incense, and a candle in the middle. Then in the evening, Thai people
go to places where there is a river, a pound to launch their "KRATHONG".
Not
a
national
holiday, but an evening when Thais pay respect to the
goddess of the waters by floating candlelit offerings on any and all
waterways around the kingdom. Tod Kratin - This
day is a religious event. The three months rain retreat is over for
monks. Monks are allowed to go out of temples. Robes offering
ceremonies ("THOT KATHIN"
- ทอดกฐิน) happen everywhere in Thailand. Thai people choose temples
everywhere in Thailand and bring there clothes, food for the monks. "THOT
KATHIN" ceremonies can occur
for 30 days, from Ok Phansa through to the full moon of the twelfth
lunar month. Each temple may hold a
Tod Kratin ceremony only once each year. In the time of the Lord
Buddha, this ceremony was meant to teach monks humility and show them
how to cut, sew, and dye the robes for themselves. The finished robes
were then offered to the members of the company deemed most suitable.
Today, however, the ritual has evolved dramatically into a grand
celebration where hundreds and thousands of people join in the merit
making. It is also an important occasion for the temple to raise funds. December 5 - The King's
Birthday and Father's day December
31 New Year's Eve / วันสิ้นปี
|
|
||||||||||||||||
