Vesak poya day lanterns-SRI LANKA
Vesak poya day lanterns-SRI LANKA
Vesak or Wesak, Vesākha (Pali; Sanskrit), Sinhala commemorates the three most important milestones in the life of Gautama Buddha – His birth, enlightenment and Parinirvana (Nirvana after death).
Visiting the Temple is an important part of the Vesak Poya day activities of every Buddhist family. Young and old alike offer flowers and light oil lamps, with many observing sil all day. Buddhists in Sri Lanka spend the Vesak Poya day engaged in meditation and meritorious deeds, as it is considered appropriate to make a special effort to assist those in need and bring happiness to others during one’s lifetime. It is not a time for fulfilling one’s own desires. Instead Buddhists endeavour to pay homage to Lord Buddha by decorating Temples, creating beautiful decorations depicting scenes from His life and offering prayers of worship.
Vesak is known as the festival of light, a very appropriate name since almost all the decorations are in the form of illuminations.
Families prepare decorations in the days preceding Vesak in their homes, consisting of paper lanterns, little clay oil lamps and intricate ‘kudu’ which are large lanterns surrounded by tiny lanterns decorated in many colours. All these are lit up on Vesak evening. The true creative talents of the people in this island emerge during this time as every lantern or ‘kudu’ is unique, and produced with dedicated devotion and piety. In recent years competitions have been organized by private and state institutions to judge the best ‘kudu’, and a very significant feature of these contests has been the innovative use of natural materials such as twigs, jute and leaves, veering away from the common practice of using paper when making these decorations.
Pandols are another beautiful expression of homage to Lord Buddha. These are huge board-like structures with illustrations of Jataka Katha or folk tales associated with the Blessed One. The entire structure and the individual sections within it are illuminated by hundreds of coloured blinking lights. The story, which always has a moral attached to it, is also narrated over a PA
system for the benefit of the crowd gathered to witness this beautiful creation. A new innovation in the form of digital pandols has further promoted the theme of environmentally friendly decorations and reduced energy consumption.
Vesak or Wesak, Vesākha (Pali; Sanskrit), Sinhala commemorates the three most important milestones in the life of Gautama Buddha – His birth, enlightenment and Parinirvana (Nirvana after death).
Visiting the Temple is an important part of the Vesak Poya day activities of every Buddhist family. Young and old alike offer flowers and light oil lamps, with many observing sil all day. Buddhists in Sri Lanka spend the Vesak Poya day engaged in meditation and meritorious deeds, as it is considered appropriate to make a special effort to assist those in need and bring happiness to others during one’s lifetime. It is not a time for fulfilling one’s own desires. Instead Buddhists endeavour to pay homage to Lord Buddha by decorating Temples, creating beautiful decorations depicting scenes from His life and offering prayers of worship.
Vesak is known as the festival of light, a very appropriate name since almost all the decorations are in the form of illuminations.
Families prepare decorations in the days preceding Vesak in their homes, consisting of paper lanterns, little clay oil lamps and intricate ‘kudu’ which are large lanterns surrounded by tiny lanterns decorated in many colours. All these are lit up on Vesak evening. The true creative talents of the people in this island emerge during this time as every lantern or ‘kudu’ is unique, and produced with dedicated devotion and piety. In recent years competitions have been organized by private and state institutions to judge the best ‘kudu’, and a very significant feature of these contests has been the innovative use of natural materials such as twigs, jute and leaves, veering away from the common practice of using paper when making these decorations.
Pandols are another beautiful expression of homage to Lord Buddha. These are huge board-like structures with illustrations of Jataka Katha or folk tales associated with the Blessed One. The entire structure and the individual sections within it are illuminated by hundreds of coloured blinking lights. The story, which always has a moral attached to it, is also narrated over a PA
system for the benefit of the crowd gathered to witness this beautiful creation. A new innovation in the form of digital pandols has further promoted the theme of environmentally friendly decorations and reduced energy consumption.
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