Vesak is celebrated by Buddhist all around the world. The festival falls on the full moon day of May each year. This is celebrated to commemorate some of the important events in the life of Lord Buddha, the teacher of Buddhism. These events namely are the birth of Prince Siddhartha, the enlightenment of Lord Buddha and the passing away of Lord Buddha which occurred over 2500 years.
Countries like Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia celebrates this festival in a very high calibre. People in Sri Lanka get ready for this event months ahead. On the day of Vesak temples are full of people who are observing sill. Most of the roads are covered with Buddhist flags which sway in the wind creating a very charming effect. By night people who did not observe sill go to temples wearing all white to offer flowers, light lamps and incense sticks for Lord Buddha.
From the day time free food will be offered from places called “Dansal”. Special main meals like rice with a few curries are common during day time. People stay in queues to get into these dansal. One should at least try these once. In the evening and in the night the most common things to be served are the free soft drinks, sago and ice-cream; little children crowd around these places with their parents to get a free treat.
All the Buddhist houses will be decorated with lanterns made from bamboo, and also a Buddhist flag in every house is a common site. The street lights are not required on this day because these lanterns illuminate a serene light and create a unique atmosphere. Special lantern competitions are organized in several places of the country. You can witness the creativity of the Sri Lankan people by visiting one of these competitions. Some of these lanterns are so amazingly beautiful. Pandols are created in different places; they are all based on different jathaka stories, which display previous births of Lord Buddha. The lights switching on and off on the pandol in different patterns are amazing to watch.
The best way to experience this event is to use a Sri Lanka car rental, one of the top companies that provide this service is Malkey Rent a Car. This company even provides airport transfers Sri Lanka.
Chandrishan Williams is a travel writer who writes under the pen name, Caleb Falcon. He specializes in writing content based on the many exciting world adventures that await intrepid travellers.