What Buddhist festivals are celebrated? When and how?
There are a number of Buddhist festivals celebrated throughout the year, of which the most important is the commemoration of Sakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. There are three days to be honored: April 8th – Buddha’s Birthday December 8th – Dharma Day (celebration of Sakyamuni Buddha’s Enlightenment Day) July 15th – Sangha Day Sakyamuni Buddha’s Birthday is also called the Bathing Buddha Festival. According to legend, there were many auspicious signs on the day he was born. One of the miraculous phenomena was he walded seven steps forward and at each step, a lotus flower sprang up from the ground. With one arm raised upward and one finger pointed downward, he then declared: ‘Above heaven and on earth, I’m the supreme; and unique.’ Two dragons appeared in the sky, gently spurting two streams of purified water down, one warm and one cool, to bathe the prince. Thereafter, when people celebrate the Buddha’s birthday, they use fragrant water to bathe the Buddha statue. This ritual s
