festivals

Early sources can give the impression that a somewhat puritanical view of festivals was held in the early monastic community. For example, dancing, singing, music, and watching shows are all prohibited by the seventh of the Eight Precepts (aṣṭāṇga-śīla). The general attitude towards festivals, however, is unlikely to have been quite so severe. For lay-people especially it is likely that pre-Buddhist festivals, such as the full-moon festival, operated with little change. More specifically Buddhist ceremonies were also developed, such as the uposatha (Sanskrit, poṣadha) and the kaṭhina ceremony, and as lay involvement grew religious events of this kind provided the occasion for popular festivals. Notable events in the life of the Buddha such as his birth, enlightenment (bodhi) and parinirvāṇa, are commemorated on the day of the full moon in May. In Sri Lanka this is known as Vesak (or Wesak) and in Thailand, Visākhā Pūjā. His first sermon is commemorated in the Āsāḷha Pūjā (see also Esala Perahera). In Japan the Buddha's birth is celebrated on 8 April in the Hana Matsuri festival, his enlightenment on 15 February (Nehan) and his death on 8 December (Rōhatsu). Many Buddhist festivals coincide with new year festivities, such as the Tibetan ‘Great Prayer Festival’ (Tibetan, smon lam chen mo), or with events in the agricultural cycle such as sowing and harvesting. The Poson ceremony commemorates the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka. In China, the festival of the ‘hungry ghosts’ (Sanskrit, preta) is very popular (see fang yen-k'ou). Where Buddhism coexists with other religions, as in east Asia, Buddhist festivals often become fused with those of local traditions such as Confucianism, Taoism, and Shintō.

A Dictionary of Buddhism, Oxford University Press, 2003, 2004 (which is available in electronic version from answer.com)