Festivals

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Buddhist Festivals and Retreats

Festivals and retreats play a very important role in Buddhism.

Wesak

Wesak Day is the celebration of the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha, in a variety of ways.
Believers arrive at their temple before sunrise in order to raise the Buddhist flag and sing hymns to the Three Refuges.
Flowers, candles and incense are given as an offering.
People avoid killing anything so eat vegetarian food.
Some concentrate on the Noble Eightfold Path by staying in the temple all day and wearing white clothes.
Monks recite verses by the Buddha for peace and happiness for all.

Vassa

Vassa is a annual three month retreat (usually from July to October) of the Theravada tradition.
Monks stay in monasteries/the grounds of a temple.
Giving up meat or smoking is another way of observing Vassa.

Kathina

Kathina is what ends Vassa.
In Thailand, there are parades and ceremonies for offerings.
The offerings can take place up to one month at the end of the Vassa period.
The monks are offered new, saffron robes and people often give the monks basic items and food.
Villages sometimes collect donations which are then hung on the money tree, which is typically then paraded to the temple.

Other festivals

There are many festivals in the Buddhist tradition.

Uposatha days

Uposatha days are days of observance in Theravada Buddhism.
Buddha said that these days were to cleanse the 'defiled mind'.
Effort is made to keep the five precepts, people attend the temple to make offerings, meditate and listen to talks given on the Dhamma.
Uposatha happens typically once a week in Theravada countries, aligned with the quarters of the moon.

Hanamatsuri and Obon

Hanamatsuri is a Japanese festival which celebrates the birth of Buddha.
People bathe the Buddha by pouring a tea made from hydrangea on small Buddha statues. There is also the tradition of 'lion dancing'.
Obon is a festival lasting 3 days which honours the spirits of the ancestors.
Many return to the graves of their family members and use it as a time to reunite.

Parinibbana Day

Parinibbana Day is celebrated in Mahayana Buddhism in East Asia, on either the 8th or 15th of February.
This day marks the point at which Buddha achieved Parinibbana, complete Nibbana.
Passages from the Nibbana Sutra are read in temples and monasteries which people visit.

Lama Tsong Khapa Day

Lama Tsong Khapa Day in Tibet celebrates the anniversary of Lama Tsong Khapa's parinibbana.
It happens on the 25th day of the 10th month in the Tibetan calendar.
Offerings are made typically of lights, flowers, incense, food and water.

1Buddhism

2Christianity

2.1Key Beliefs

2.1.1The Nature of God

2.1.2The Problem of Evil

2.1.3Monotheism

2.1.4Creation

2.1.5Bible Accounts of Creation

2.1.6The Trinity and Creation

2.1.7Afterlife

2.1.8Heaven and Hell

2.1.9The Influence of Afterlife on Life

2.1.10End of Topic Test - Christianity Key Beliefs

2.1.11Exam-Style Questions - Christian Beliefs

2.2Jesus Christ & Salvation

2.2.1The Incarnation

2.2.2Jesus - Divine & Human

2.2.3The Crucifixion

2.2.4Jesus' Betrayal

2.2.5Resurrection & Ascension

2.2.6Sin

2.2.7Original Sin

2.2.8Punishment

2.2.9The Means of Salvation

2.2.10Achieving Salvation

2.2.11Disagreements About Salvation

2.2.12The Role of Christ in Salvation

2.2.13Theories of Salvation

2.2.14End of Topic Test - Jesus Christ & Salvation

2.3Worship & Festivals

2.3.1Different Forms of Worship

2.3.2Prayer

2.3.3Sacrament

2.3.4Baptism

2.3.5Other Sacraments

2.3.6Eucharist

2.3.7Pilgrimage & Celebrations

2.3.8Christmas & Easter

2.3.9End of Topic Test - Worship and Festivals

2.4Community

2.4.1Local Community

2.4.2Mission, Evangelism & Church Growth

2.4.3Worldwide Church

2.4.4Reconciliation

2.4.5Persecution

2.4.6Caring for Those in Need

2.4.7End of Topic Test - Community

2.4.8Exam-Style Questions - Christian Practices

3Catholicism (Christianity)

4Islam

5Judaism

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