Visakha Bucha is one of the most important Buddhist holidays, dedicated to the three most important periods of Buddha's life: his birth, enlightenment and death. The exact date of its celebration is determined annually and coincides with 1, 15 or 31 days of the fourth or sixth lunar month. In Buddhist countries, additional weekends are being introduced and colorful festive events are held everywhere.
Visakha Bucha is an international holiday celebrated at the state level in Buddhist countries: Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Burma, Indonesia and the Philippines. Also, the holiday is celebrated by Buddhists from China, Japan, Korea and many other countries of the world.
Visakha Bucha is primarily a religious holiday, and on this day all Buddhist believers go to temples to worship the wisdom, purity and compassion of the Buddha. In large cities, the procession is led by members of the royal families.
From the early morning, the faithful are busy preparing food and sweets for the monks. Then they, dressed in snow-white robes, go to the temple, where until the evening the monks read sermons in honor of the Buddha, his poems recited 25 centuries ago, conduct festive rituals and meditations.
In the evening, the festive ceremony reaches its climax, and the most colorful part of the celebration begins - the candle ceremony. Each of its participants holds in their hands a burning candle - a symbol of Buddha, three incense sticks and fresh flowers - they symbolize his teachings and followers.
These three symbols should also remind believers that, just as beautiful flowers will soon fade, and candles and sticks will turn into cinders, life is subject to destruction and withering.
During the candle ceremony, believers walk around the temple and its main chapel three times.
On this day, Buddhists give up alcohol and other temptations and devote the day to prayers, charity, pleasing monks and performing rituals. In addition, during the holiday, any actions that threaten the life and health of the animal world are prohibited.
One of the symbolic rituals held on this holiday is the "act of liberation": thousands of birds, animals and insects are released into the wild.
According to legend, shortly before his death, Buddha met his faithful assistant, who was sitting on a stone and crying. He calmed him down and revealed to him the secret of the teaching: one cannot worship Buddha only by offering flowers, incense and light, but one must sincerely follow his laws. Since then, Buddhists celebrate this holiday every year, observing all the laws of Buddhism, presenting gifts to temples and performing religious rituals.
In 1999, the holiday was recognized by UNESCO as a World Heritage Day.
