Buddha Purnima today

The festival of Buddha Purnima is traditionally celebrated to commemorate the birth of Siddhartha Gautama​, who later became Gautama Buddha and went on to become the founder of Buddhism, reports the DNAIndia.

 

On this day, people celebrate Siddhartha's choice to embrace a spiritual quest wherein he renounced all worldly pleasures to become a holy man. He chose this life when he witnessed the suffering of common people. He was hence inspired to let go of his royal life.

 

The festival is also known as Buddha Jayanti and being celebrated this year on May 21.

 

Buddha's birth country is considered as Nepal, and there this day is celebrated in accordance to the full moon day of the Vaisakha month of the Buddhist calendar.

 

Neighboring Southeast Asian countries too, celebrate this day during the Vaisakha month of the Buddhist and Hindu calendar, which is usually the month of April or May according to the Western Gregorian calendar.

 

Countries all over the world celebrate the essence of Buddhism on this day, and it is not limited only to Southeast Asia. The day is a public holiday in many countries, including China, India, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand and South Vietnam; Canada, Australia and United States (US), too, celebrate this festival by commemorating different ethnicities and cultures.