2023 Buddha’s Birthday: Festival of Enlightment

Today, on the 27th of May, Koreans celebrate Buddha's Birthday, also called 부처님 오신 날 (bucheonim osin nal), literally the day when Buddha came, or 석가탄신일 (seokgatansinil).

Celebrated in most South and East Asia countries, Buddha's birthday commemorates the birth of Prince Siddhartha Gautama, the founder of Buddhism.

In South Korea, China, Vietnam, and the Philippines, it is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar, which usually falls from the end of April to the end of May.

Buddha's birthday in South Korea is a religious celebration for those practicing Buddhism and a public holiday where people can enjoy many fun activities.

Introduced in South Korea in the Fourth century CE from China, Buddhism slowly diffused among the three kingdoms of Paekche, Koguryŏ, and Silla. Under the unified Silla nation, it flourished but was later suppressed by the Joseon dynasty, which preferred Confucianism. 

Among the most important monks who helped spread Buddhism in the country, Wonhyŏ Daisa, who, in particular, implemented the use of music, literature and dance to express the meaning of Buddhism, and Ŭisang, who sent to China to learn more about the religion and brough back the Hwaom sect.

Despite that ,it is, as of now, the most widely spread religion together with Christianity; for this reason, there are a lot of temples around the country.

Firstly a great lantern is lit inside the main temple; for Buddhists, lanterns have meaning of enlightenment and letting go of worldly worries.

Since Buddha's birthday also celebrates his reaching enlightenment, this ceremony holds a lot of meaning.

In particular, the Jogye Order, South Korea's largest Buddhist sect, prepared a large-scale ceremony at Jogye Temple in Seoul, the first big celebration for Buddha's birthday since all the restrictions dut to the pandemic were lifted.

Buddha's birthday is known around the globe as the Festival of Lanterns.

This name describes it perfectly since the event that usually draws the most attention is the Lantern Parade. In this vast procession, many people hold colorful lanterns, primarily red, pink, and gold, lit with candles.

Throughout the day, other parades, performances, and ceremonies are held on the streets and inside temples across the country. People can admire those temples, covered in lotus lanterns, and enjoy foods and beverages offered by the monks, among them traditionally vegetarian bibimbap.

Also many people make small donations to the temples to hang their own lantern, equipped with paper tags on which they can write their names and worries or wishes.

Many Koreans also enjoy wearing traditional clothes on Buddha's Birthday. The traditional clothing is called Hanbok and is not only exceptionally beautiful but also very colorful. If you visit South Korea during this celebration, you can rent one to join the festivities.

The most anticipated event is 연등회 (Yeon Deung Hoe), or the Lotus Lantern Festival, which takes place the weekend before Buddha's birthday.

Before the parade, in the afternoon, there are dance performances and ceremonies in the streets; then, around 7 pm, participants move to Dongguk University, one of the prominent Buddhist universities in South Korea.

The parade works its way along Jongro, one of the main streets of Seoul, and finishes at Jogyesa temple around 9 pm.

The participants in the parade are pretty varied, not only monks but people from every age group and of any kind, of course also many tourists, all holding their paper lanterns. Among these simple ones are some larger set-piece parade floats of any shape: fishes, flowers, and dragons!

Surely a must-go-to-event for everyone! The day after the Lotus Lanterns Parade, there are other cultural activities and performances around Insadong, a neighborhood crammed with traditional shops and tea houses.

Despite Seoul's parade fame, Busan too has a really beautiful parade and, overall, they take place all over South Korea, even if in minor scale.

Of course, during Buddha's birthday, many stalls around Seoul also sell traditional foods and products, so it's an excellent occasion for tourists to find beautiful souvenirs.

Buddha's birthday is a celebration rooted in centuries of South Korean traditions, a festivity that goes beyond religion and celebrates new beginnings and harmony for all those who want to participate. 

As Buddhism preached, the festivity revolves around enlightenment, spending time in harmony, if you want, in one of the many Buddhist temples around the country, embracing nature and eating vegetarian foods, letting go of your worries, and bringing forth new beginnings.

All these teachings are incredibly positive and would significantly improve anyone's life, so in honor of Buddha's birthday, wherever you are, try to let go of your worries and spend some time in nature!