2010 Calendars: Religions: Buddhist
(Every effort has been made to assure that the dates below are correct)
Buddhist Holidays 2010
Magha Puja / Fourfold Assembly / Sangha Day (Buddhist)
March 30, 2010
Magha Puja is an important religious festival celebrated by Buddhists in Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos on the full moon day of the third lunar month (this usually falls in February).
Birthday of the Buddha (Buddhist)
April 08, 2010
Commemorate the most important Buddhist holiday, the Day of Vesak. Buddhists throughout Indonesia, Korea, Singapore and Thailand celebrate the birthday of the enlightened one, who lived from 563 – 483 BCE in India.
Songkran (Buddhist)
April 13-15, 2010
This Thai festival goes on for days during April where people clean their houses and clothes and sprinkle perfumed water on the monks, novices, and other people. On top of everybody being wet they can enjoy boat races on the river.
Vesak / Visakah Puja / Buddha Day - Birthday of the Buddah (Buddhist)
May 27, 2010
Buddha's Birthday is known as Vesak and is one of the major festivals of the year. It is celebrated on the first full moon day in May, but when it's a leap year it falls in June.
Birthday of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (Buddhist)
July 06, 2010
Tenzin Gyatso is the current, and 14th, Dalai Lama. Born on this day in 1935.
Asalha Puja Day / Dhamma Day (Buddhist)
July 26, 2010
Celebrates the Buddha's first teaching on the full moon day of the 8th lunar month, approximately July.
Buddhist New Year (Buddhist)
New Year occurs on different days in different countries following Buddhism. New Year in Theravadin countries, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and Lao is celebrated for three days from the first full moon day in April. In Mahayan countries, New Year celebrations starts on the first full moon day in January. These countries celebrate the day according to their ethnic background and culture. People of China, Korea and Vietnam celebrate it in the month of January or early February while Tibetans usually celebrate a month later.
Uposatha (Buddhist)
This day is known as observance day, there are four holy days on the new moon, full moon, and quarter moon days every month.
Kathina Ceremony (Robe offering ceremony - Buddhist)
This robe offering ceremony is held on any date within the end of the Vassa Retreat. New robes and other requisites can be offered by the laity to the monks.
Abhidhamma Day (Buddhist)
According to Burmese tradition, this day celebrates when the Buddha went to the Tushita Heaven to teach his mother the Abhidhamma. It is celebrated on the full moon of the seventh month of the Burmese lunar year which starts in April.
Loy Krathong / Festival of Floating Bowls (Buddhist)
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 placed in the water, and represent bad luck disappearing.
The Ploughing Festival (Buddhist)
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.
The Elephant Festival (Buddhist)
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.
The Festival of the Tooth (Buddhist)
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.
Ulambana / Ancestor Day (Buddhist)
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.
Avalokitesvara's Birthday (Buddhist)
This festival celebrates the Bodhisattva ideal. On the full moon day in March It represents the perfection of compassion in Mahayana traditions of Tibet and China.
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