Buddha's Birthday · Fodan

Culture of origin: Buddhist · Cultural

Holiday sources: Buddhism

China, Korea, Vietnam and Hong Kong keep the Buddha's birth on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. In China the day is also called Yufo Jie, the festival of bathing the Buddha: people light incense and bring food offerings for the monks at the temples, and statues of the Buddha are bathed, in Macau with scented water. In South Korea, where it is a national holiday, lotus lanterns hang in temples, homes and streets, and many temples give free meals and tea to visitors; the lantern festival, Yeondeunghoe, is recorded at Hwangnyongsa temple in Gyeongju under Silla in 866 and has been on UNESCO's list of intangible cultural heritage since 2020. Japan keeps the birthday on 8 April (Hanamatsuri), and the Theravada countries keep it with Vesak.