VESAKHA PUJA / WESAK / BUDDHA DAY / BODHI DAY

12th May 2025

Buddhist

On Wesak Theravadin Buddhists celebrate the birth, the enlightenment under the Bodhi Tree in Bodhgaya in North India, and the final passing away of Gautama Buddha. Mahayanist Buddhists have separate days for each of these events but on Buddha Day they celebrate both the birth and the enlightenment of the Buddha. They also celebrate his enlightenment on Bodhi Day in December. It is common in almost all Buddhist traditions to decorate the houses where Buddhists live with lanterns and garlands, and the temples are ringed with little oil lamps, consisting of a simple cloth or cotton wick in a small clay vessel of oil. Many Buddhists also send ‘Wesak cards’ to their friends.

On this day particular stress is laid on the Buddha’s enlightenment and many lay people come together at monasteries for this, the biggest of all the Buddhist festivals. No matter how important the Dharma and the Sangha may be in Buddhist belief and practice, it is the Buddha himself who is the central figure and originator of Buddhist teaching, and the celebration at this festival of his enlightenment is of central importance to all Buddhist communities.