Follow Us
Subscribe to Events and Festivals Blog
Singapore Night Safari…
Singapore Night Safari known as the world’s first wildlife park that offers an after sunset tour. A place to see the Ani…
Read MoreThe Lantern Festival in Bangkok – a glorious sight…
It is one of the most noteworthy days in the Chinese calendar. The colorful Lantern Festival which is also known as Yuanxi…
Read MoreHappy Valley Racecourse – where colonial racing tr…
In Hong Kong, once a colony of the British, horse racing is still quite popular today as it was among its colonial masters…
Read MoreEntertainment City – a world of fun and amusement …
Kuwait is an Arab Emirate nestled in the Persian Gulf’s northwestern coast, flanked by Saudi Arabia on its south and Ira…
Read MoreSukhumvit – The quintessential Thai nocturnal expe…
If Bangkok seems endlessly lively and busy during the day, it is of little surprise that life in the vibrant capitol city …
Read MoreJazz Clubs in London – Move to the music…
Back in the days of the Roman’s London, was merely a little village on the river Thames with narrow streets lined with t…
Read More
In hushed reverence and quiet veneration, the birth, enlightenment and the death of the Buddha is celebrated by Buddhists scattered the world over on the day of Vesak, the day marked as the most important on the Buddhist calendar. Bathed in the charm of this day, devotees find serenity sublime in the beautiful and symbolic celebrations and rituals that are faithfully followed on the day.
In Singapore, where Theravada and Mahayana Buddhists together abide, the rituals followed slightly vary, while the common chord of peace and good deeds as well as repentance bind the hearts and minds of those who celebrate in strong and significant unison. The day of Vesak is celebrated on the 15th day of the 4th month of the Chinese Lunar Calendar in Singapore, on which good deeds and righteous gestures are practiced far and wide owing to the belief that such deeds performed on the sacred day multiplies merit many times over. Hence blood donations are organized in grand scale, mantras are chanted and caged animals are released.
The many statues of the Buddha are illuminated with lights on this day where candlelight processions take place on the streets, while some “bathe” a Buddha statue symbolizing the showers of the waters of the nine dragons that bathed Buddha after birth.
When in Singapore during the time of this festival the Lian Shan Shuang Lin Temple is a great place to observe the quiet celebrations of Vesak. This majestic temple is the second largest temple in Asia as well as being the oldest temple in Singapore. In Chinatown also one may find the beauty of Vesak pulsating with devotion at the spiritual centre of The Buddha Tooth Relic Temple while admiring the wonderful combination of the Buddhist mandala and the remnants of glory of the Tang dynasty expressed in the Buddhist art culture on display there.
For those who would like to visit the country illuminated by a million lights of reverence during the festival of Vesak, Singapore apartment hotels such as the Citadines Mount Sophia Singapore is an ideal place to seek accommodation in as it is one of the leading serviced apartments Singapore has.
Jayani Senanayake is a writer who dabbles in travel and all things exotic. Under the pseudonym of Caliope Sage, she writes of the allures that must simply be discovered.Google+