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One of the most significant dates in the Buddhist calendar is Vesak. It is the day that commemorates the 3 main events in Lord Buddha’s life; birth, enlightenment and death. Singapore is an Asian country that has a large number of Buddhists and therefore Vesak is a public holiday here. It falls on the 15th of the 4th month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar.
Various temples throughout Singapore have activities starting from dawn during Vesak. Devotees visit the temple with offerings of flowers, joy-sticks and candles. These simple offerings have meaning too as they symbolize that life also wilts away like the flowers or burns down like the candle and joy-stick.
This day has more good deeds being performed as it is believed that the merit of the good deeds you perform on Vesak day will increase many fold. While mass activities like blood donation are organized, families also engage in more personal ones such as releasing caged birds and animals etc. Rituals include chanting ‘mantras’, being a vegetarian and bathing a Buddha statue.
From a celebration manner Buddha statues are illuminated as well as candlelight processions. As the Buddhists in Singapore are comprised of those who arrived here from China, Sri Lanka and Burma, the practices during Vesak vary greatly. Witnessing the diverse ways in which all of them commemorate the most important day in their spiritual leader’s life is a truly humbling experience.
For instance in the Mahayana Buddhist Temple, devotees climb the steps in both knees, praying at every third step. The prayers are for personal blessings, repentance as well as world peace. In the Burmese and Sri Lankan Buddhist Temples a pot of rice milk is cooked in remembrance of Buddha’s last meal.
Since most places are closed on this day having an accommodation that has activities to keep you occupied is advisable for those of you who don’t want to participate in the happenings of the city. W Singapore Sentosa Cove is one such place. It is among the most popular luxury resort in Singapore. The hotel belongs to the acclaimed Sentosa Resort Singapore chain.

Pushpitha Wijesinghe is an experienced independent freelance writer. He specializes in providing a wide variety of content and articles related to the travel hospitality industry. Google+

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