Sri Lanka It's Happening

May 23, 2005

The buddhist calendar looks like a lunar calendar, hang on a second it is a lunar calendar with the most significant days falling on the full moon day.

The full moon day in Sri Lanka is known as the full moon poya day. It is a public holiday because the date coincides with an important event in the life of Lord Buddha. The fifth full moon poya day is the most important one; Vesak. (also spelled as Wesak). The trouble is the fifth full moon does not always happen in May.

Sri Lankan buddhist monks, currently calling for an anti conversion bill (because people are leaving the temple in droves disgusted with the actions of the monks themselves) converted to cristianity long ago. As a result Vesak is always celebrated in May.

Because a calendar month in the christian calendar has thirty days ore more, it is possible for a month to have two full moon days - as did happen a few years ago.

So though we call the full moon holiday in May the Vesak day, it certainly is not the anniversary of the Lord Buddha's birth.

Posted by raditha at May 23, 2005 3:22 AM