Buddha's Birthday - this year is 10th May

Buddha's Birthday, the birthday of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, is a holiday traditionally celebrated in Mahayana Buddhism.

Date

 East Asia except Japan

In all east Asian countries, except Japan beginning in 1873, it is held on the 8th day of the 4th month in the Chinese lunar calendar, and the day is an official holiday in Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea. The date varies from year to year in the Gregorian calendar:

• 2003: May 8
• 2004: May 26
• 2005: May 15 (This was a Sunday; hence, May 16 was a holiday in Hong Kong.)
• 2006: May 5
• 2007: May 24
• 2008: May 12
• 2009: May 2
• 2010: May 21
• 2011: May 10
• 2012: May 28
• 2013: May 17
• 2014: May 6
• 2015: May 25

Korea

In Korea the birthday of Buddha(One of the holidays in Korea) is celebrated according to the Lunisolar calendar. This day is called 석가탄신일 (Seokga tansinil), meaning "the day of Buddha's birthday" or 부처님 오신 날 (Bucheonim osin nal) meaning "the day when Buddha arrived". Lotus lanterns cover the entire temple throughout the month which are often flooded down the street. On the day of Buddha's birth, many temples provide free meals and tea to all visitors. The breakfast and lunch provided are often sanchae bibimbap.

Japan

Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar rather than the Chinese lunar calendar in 1873. The 4th month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar is translated into April or May. Therefore Buddha's birth is celebrated on April 8 or May 8 in many Japanese temples, and rarely on the orthodox Chinese calendar date.