In Theravada countries, the day that celebrates the Buddha’s birthday is more affectionately known as the Vesak day. However, the celebrations extend not only to his birth but also his enlightenment and commemoration of his passing away. Vesak is actually the name of the fourth month in the lunar calendar and the day that celebrates Buddha’s thrice sacred events occurs on the fifteenieth day of the same lunar month. As such, there are Buddhist flags, flyers and posters all around the city, but mainly concentrated outside of temples. More info can be garnered here
5 comments:
I did not think Vietnam was that buddhist that they would promote Vesak day so prominently. When I lived there i cannot remember ever seeing this type of promotion
I think there is a lot more decoration this year due to the fact that Vietnam is hosting a week long Buddhist conference in Hanoi. You can see all the information in the link at the end of the text above
that is a lot of flags
If im in the situation of the owner of this blog. I dont know how to post this kind of topic. he has a nice idea.
S0me of the decorations have obviously been obtained through the conference organizers, the bigger posters are unified accross the city and usually mention the Vesak conference and its themes. The many plastic baloons and lanterns pushed the otherwise beautiful originality of Vietnamese Buddhist art to the beackground a little bit this year. However, it seems that the government is not shy to use any opportunity to promote Vietnam as friendly and welcoming, attract visitors and put the country into the spotlight of international media - which is good. Happy Vesak everyone.
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