Vesak Day

Vesākha (Pali;Vaiśākha, Sinhala: වෙසක් පෝය, Devanagari: वैशाख, बुद्ध पुर्णिमा, बुद्ध जयन्ति, Bengali: বুদ্ধ পূর্ণিমা or ভেসাক, Thai: วิสาขบูชา), Wesak or Vesak also known as Buddha Purnima is a holy day observed traditionally by Buddhists in Nepal, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and the South East Asian countries of Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, and Indonesia. Sometimes informally called "Buddha's Birthday", it actually commemorates the birth, enlightenment (nirvāna), and death (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha.

The exact date of Vesākha varies according to the various lunar calendars used in different traditions. In Theravada countries following the Buddhist calendar, it falls on a full moon Uposatha day, typically in the 5th or 6th lunar month. Vesākha Day in China and Korea is on the eighth of the fourth month in the Chinese lunar calendar. The date varies from year to year in the Western Gregorian calendar, but usually falls in April or May. In leap years Vesākha is celebrated in June.