Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

, Burmese,

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Chakma, Marma and Barua festivals often show the influence of

Buddhist culture Buddhist culture is exemplified through Buddhist art, Buddhist architecture, Buddhist music and Buddhist cuisine. As Buddhism expanded from the Indian subcontinent it adopted artistic and cultural elements of host countries in other parts of Asia ...

. Pagoda festivals in Myanmar are one example. In Tibet, India and Bhutan these festivals may include the traditional cham dance.

Lunar New Year Lunar New Year is the beginning of a calendar year whose months are moon cycles, based on the lunar calendar or lunisolar calendar. The Lunar New Year as a celebration is observed by numerous cultures. It is also named " Chinese New Year" becau ...

festivals of Buddhist countries in east, south and southeast Asia also include some aspects of Buddhist culture, but they are considered cultural festivals as opposed to religious ones.

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Aluth Sahal Mangallaya The Aluth Sahal Mangalle or the New Rice Festival is a harvest festival of the Maha kannaya in Sri Lanka. The first batch of new rice after being plucked, threshed and winnowed is offered to the Buddha and deities. Every January Poya Day, new ...

Ambedkar Jayanti Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti is an annual festival observed on 14 April to commemorate the memory of B. R. Ambedkar, Indian politician and civil rights activist. It marks Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's birthday who was born on 14 April 1891. Si ...

Asalha Puja Asalha Puja (also known as Asadha Puja or Asanha Bucha in Thailand, th, อาสาฬหบูชา) is a Theravada Buddhist festival which typically takes place in July, on the full moon of the month of Āsādha. It is celebrated in Indone ...

Vesak Vesak (Pali: ''Vesākha''; sa, Vaiśākha), also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhism, Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. The festival ...

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Barua festivals The Barua ( bn, বড়ুয়া, ''Boṛua''; Arakanese: မရမာကြီး), are an ethnic group native to Chittagong Division in Bangladesh, Rakhine State in Myanmar, where they are known as the Maramagyi or Maramagri, and parts ...

Bhumchu Bhumchu (Bhum is a pot, Chum is water) is a Buddhist festival, which on the Tibetan lunar calendar is held on the 14th and 15th day of the first month, which is between February and March on the Gregorian calendar. In Sikkim the Tashiding Mona ...

Bodhi Day Bodhi Day is the Buddhist holiday that commemorates the day that Gautama Buddha (Shakyamuni) is said to have attained enlightenment, also known as ''bodhi'' in Sanskrit and Pali. According to tradition, Siddhartha had recently forsaken years of ...

Bon Festival or just is fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people retu ...

Boun Suang Huea The boat racing festival called Boun Suang Heua or Boun Xuang Heua (Lao: ບຸນຊ່ວງເຮືອ) or Loy Krathong (Lao: ລອຍກະໂທງ) is celebrated every year, particularly in Laos, usually in October, at the end of Buddhist ...

Buddha's Birthday Buddha's Birthday (also known as Buddha Jayanti, also known as his day of enlightenment – Buddha Purnima, Buddha Pournami) is a Buddhist festival that is celebrated in most of East Asia and South Asia commemorating the birth of the Gautama ...

Bunga Dyah Jatra Rato Machindranath Jatra ( ne, रातो मच्छिन्द्रनाथको रथयात्रा; new, बुंग द्यः जात्रा,Buṅga Dyaḥ Jātrā) is a chariot procession honouring the Vajrayani Buddhism ...

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* Chak phra *

Cheung Chau Bun Festival Cheung Chau Bun Festival or Cheung Chau Da Jiu Festival is a traditional Chinese festival on the island of Cheung Chau in Hong Kong. Held annually, and with therefore the most public exposure, it is by far the most famous of such Da Jiu festiv ...

Chotrul Duchen Chötrul Düchen, also known as Chonga Choepa or the Butter Lamp Festival, is one of the four Buddhist festivals commemorating four events in the life of the Buddha, according to Tibetan traditions. Chötrul Düchen closely follows Losar, the ...

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Diwali Diwali (), Dewali, Divali, or Deepavali ( IAST: ''dīpāvalī''), also known as the Festival of Lights, related to Jain Diwali, Bandi Chhor Divas, Tihar, Swanti, Sohrai, and Bandna, is a religious celebration in Indian religions. It is ...

Dongzhi Festival The Dongzhi Festival or Winter Solstice Festival () is one of the most important Chinese festivals celebrated by the Mainland Chinese, Hong Kong Chinese, Taiwan, Japanese, Vietnamese, Koreans and other East Asian-related people during the Don ...

* Deezezazu

F

Festival of Floral Offerings The Festival of Floral Offerings or Tak Bat Dokmai is a traditional merit making ceremony where takes place at Wat Phra Phuttabat in Saraburi province. Overview At the beginning of Buddhist Lent in July, people gather together at Wat Phra Phutta ...

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Ghost Festival The Ghost Festival, also known as the Zhongyuan Festival (traditional Chinese: 中元節; simplified Chinese: ) in Taoism and Yulanpen Festival () in Buddhism, is a traditional Taoist and Buddhist festival held in certain East Asian countrie ...

Gozan no Okuribi , more commonly known as , is a festival in Kyoto, Japan. It is the culmination of the Obon festival on August 16, in which five giant bonfires are lit on mountains surrounding the city. It signifies the moment when the spirits of deceased famil ...

Gunla Gunlā (Nepal Bhasa: गुंला) (also spelt Gumlā) is the tenth month in the Nepal Sambat lunar calendar, the national lunar calendar of Nepal. It corresponds to August of the Gregorian Calendar. Gunla is a holy month for Newar Buddhists ...

Gunla Bajan Gunlā Bājan () is Buddhist devotional music played by the Newars of Nepal. "Gunla" is the name of the tenth month in the Nepal Sambat calendar, which corresponds to August in the Gregorian calendar and "bajan" means "music" and "music playing ...

Guru Purnima Guru Purnima (Poornima) is a tradition dedicated to all the spiritual and academic Gurus, who are evolved or enlightened humans, ready to share their wisdom, based on Karma Yoga. It is celebrated as a festival in India, Nepal and Bhutan by Hi ...

H

* Hari-Kuyo *

Hungry ghost Hungry ghost is a concept in Buddhism, and Chinese traditional religion, representing beings who are driven by intense emotional needs in an animalistic way. The terms ' literally "hungry ghost", are the Chinese translation of the term ''pret ...

J

Jana Baha Dyah Jatra Jana Bahā Dyaḥ Jātrā ( ne, सेतो मच्छिन्द्रनाथको रथयात्रा) is the chariot procession of Jana Baha Dyah, the Bodhisattva of Compassion, which is held annually in Kathmandu. It begins on th ...

K

* Kagyed *

Kandy Esala Perahera The Kandy Esala Perahera (the Sri Dalada Perahara procession of Kandy) also known as The Festival of the Tooth is a festival held in July and August in Kandy, Sri Lanka. This historical procession is held annually to pay homage to the Sacred T ...

Kathina Kathina is a Buddhist festival which comes at the end of Vassa, the three-month rainy season retreat for Theravada Buddhists in Bangladesh (known as Kaṭhina Cībar Dān), Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, India, Thail ...

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Lhabab Duchen Lhabab Düchen (Tib. ལྷ་བབས་དུས་ཆེན་, Wyl. lha babs dus chen) is one of the four Buddhist festivals commemorating four events in the life of the Buddha, according to Tibetan traditions. Lhabab Düchen occurs on the ...

Liberation Rite of Water and Land The Liberation Rite of Water and Land () is a Chinese Buddhist ritual performed by temples and presided over by high monks. The service is often credited as one of the greatest rituals in Chinese Buddhism, as it is also the most elaborate and requ ...

Loi Krathong Loy Krathong ( th, ลอยกระทง, , ) is a Thai festival celebrated annually throughout Thailand and in nearby countries with significant South Western Tai cultures (Laos, Shan, Mon, Tanintharyi, Kelantan, Kedah, and Xishuangbanna) ...

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Madhu Purnima Modhu Purnima ( bn, মধু পূর্ণিমা, lit=honey full-moon) also known as Honey Full Moon Festival or Honey-offering Festival is a Buddhist festival celebrated in Bangladesh by the Barua (Bangladesh), Barua and Chakma people of C ...

Magha Puja Magha (māgha, माघ or maghā, मघा) may refer to: * Magha (month) (māgha, माघ), a month in the Hindu calendar * Magh (Bengali calendar), the same month in the Bengali calendar * Magha (poet) (māgha, माघ), an 8th-century San ...

Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese: / ), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (), Korea (), Vietnam (), and other countries in Eas ...

Mohani Mohani or Mohni (Nepal Bhasa: ) is one of the most important festivals among the Newars which involves a packed itinerary of religious services, pilgrimages, family gatherings and outdoor celebrations lasting several days. Special dinners kno ...

Monlam Prayer Festival Monlam also known as The Great Prayer Festival, falls on 4th–11th day of the 1st Tibetan month in Tibetan Buddhism. History The event of Monlam in Tibet was established in 1409 by Tsong Khapa, the founder of the Geluk tradition. As the greates ...

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Ōmisoka —or —is a Japanese traditional celebration on the last day of the year. Traditionally, it was held on the final day of the 12th lunar month. With Japan's switch to using the Gregorian calendar at the beginning of the Meiji era, December 31 ( ...

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Pagoda festival Pagoda festivals ( my, ဘုရားပွဲ; ''paya pwe'') are regular festivals found throughout Burma (Myanmar) that commemorate major religious events in pagoda's history, including the founding of a pagoda and the crowning of the pagoda's ...

Parinirvana Day Parinirvana Day, or Nirvana Day is a Mahayana Buddhist holiday celebrated in East Asia, Vietnam and the Philippines. By some it is celebrated on 8 February, but by most on the 15 February. In Bhutan, it is celebrated on the fifteenth day of the f ...

Pavarana Pavarana ( sa, Pravāraṇā) is a Buddhist holy day celebrated on Aashvin full moon of the lunar month. It marks the end of the 3 lunar months of Vassa, sometimes called "Buddhist Lent." The day is marked in some Asian countries where Theravada B ...

Phi Ta Khon Phi Ta Khon ( th, ผีตาโขน; phǐi taa khǒn; ) is a festival held in Dan Sai, Loei province, Isan, Thailand. The events take place over three days sometime between March and July, the dates being selected annually by the town’s med ...

Poy Sang Long Poy sang long ( shn, ပွႆးသၢင်ႇလွင်း) is a rite of passage ceremony among the Shan peoples, in Myanmar and in neighbouring northern Thailand, undergone by boys at some point between seven and fourteen years of age. It ...

Poson Poson, also known as Poson Poya, is an annual festival held by Sri Lankan Buddhists celebrating the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BC. The festival is the most important Poya (full moon) holiday of the year and the second most ...

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Qing Shan King Sacrificial Ceremony The Qing Shan King Sacrificial Ceremony (青山王祭) is a centuries-old festival that is held annually in Wanhua, Taipei, Taiwan. It is held between the 20th and 22nd of October (based on Lunar Calendar) and is meant to celebrate the birthday of ...

* Qingming Festival

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Rocket Festival The Rocket Festival ( th, ประเพณีบุญบั้งไฟ, translit=Prapheni Bun Bang Fai, lo, ບຸນບັ້ງໄຟ, translit= Bun Bang Fai) is a merit-making ceremony traditionally practiced by ethnic Lao people near ...

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Sambuddhatva jayanthi Sambuddhatva jayanthi, also known as Sambuddha jayanthi, is a religious festival in relation with the Vesak. In the Buddhist world it is celebrated in several Theravada countries including Sri Lanka, India and in Buddhist communities of other coun ...

Samyak Samyak ( ne, सम्यक) is an almsgiving Buddhist festival celebrated in the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal. During the ceremony which is held on a large open ground, hundreds of Dīpankara Buddha images are assembled, and gifts of different ty ...

Sanghamitta Saṅghamittā (Saṅghamitrā in Sanskrit, nun's name Ayapali; 282 BC – 203 BC) was the eldest daughter of Emperor Ashoka (304 BC – 232 BC) and his first wife, Devi. Together with her brother Mahinda, she entered an order of Buddhist mo ...

* Sangrai (New year Water Festival Celebrated by Marma and

Rakhine People The Rakhine people ( my, ရက္ခိုင်လူမျိုး, : , ), also known as the Arakanese people, are a Southeast Asian ethnic group in Myanmar (Burma) forming the majority along the coastal region of present-day Rakhine Stat ...

in Bangladesh) *

Sanja Matsuri , or Sanja Festival, is one of the three largest Shinto festivals in Tokyo. It is considered one of the wildest and largest. The festival is held in honor of Hinokuma Hamanari, Hinokuma Takenari, and Hajino Nakatomo, the three men who establishe ...

Setsubun is the day before the beginning of spring in the old calendar in Japan. The name literally means 'seasonal division', referring to the day just before the first day of spring in the traditional calendar, known as ; though previously referri ...

Songkran Songkran is a term derived from the Sanskrit word, ' (or, more specifically, ') and used to refer to the traditional New Year celebrated in Bangladesh, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, parts of northeast India, parts of Vietnam an ...

Songkran (Lao) Lao New Year, called Pi Mai ( lo, ປີໃໝ່, ) or less commonly Songkran ( lo, ສົງກຣານ, ), is celebrated every year from 13/14 April to 15/16 April. History Lao New Year is a popular English name for a traditional celebrat ...

Songkran (Thailand) Songkran ( th, เทศกาลสงกรานต์, ) is the Thai New Year's national holiday. Songkran is on 13 April every year, but the holiday period extends from 14 to 15 April. In 2018 the Thai cabinet extended the festival ...

Swanti (festival) Swanti (Devanagari: स्वन्ति, Nepal Script :𑐳𑑂𑐰𑐣𑑂𑐟𑐶) is a five-day festival of Nepal which is one of the year's greatest celebrations for the Newar people. It is the Newar version of Tihar or Diwali. The fest ...

T

* Tak Bat Thewo *

Tango no sekku , also known as , is one of the five annual ceremonies that were traditionally held at the Japanese imperial court called . It is the Japanese equivalent of Double Fifth and was celebrated on the fifth day of the fifth moon in the lunar calendar ...

Tazaungdaing festival The Tazaungdaing Festival ( my, တန်ဆောင်တိုင်ပွဲတော်, also known as the Festival of Lights and spelt Tazaungdine Festival), held on the full moon day of Tazaungmon, the eighth month of the Burmese calendar, ...

Tết Tết (), short for Tết Nguyên Đán ( Chữ Hán: 節元旦), Spring Festival, Lunar New Year, or Vietnamese Lunar New Year is one of the most important celebrations in Vietnamese culture. The colloquial term "Tết" is a shortened form of ...

Thadingyut Festival The Thadingyut Festival ( my, သီတင်းကျွတ်ပွဲတော်), also known as the Lighting Festival of Myanmar, is held on the full moon day of the Burmese lunar month of Thadingyut. As a custom, it is held at the end of t ...

Thingyan Thingyan (, ; Arakanese: ; from Sanskrit '' saṁkrānti,'' which means "transit f the Sun from Pisces to Aries) is the Burmese New Year Festival that usually occurs in middle of April. Thingyan is the first ever water festival celebrated in ...

Tibetan festivals In Tibet, the Tibetan calendar lags approximately four to six weeks behind the solar calendar. For example, the Tibetan First Month usually falls in February, the Fifth Month usually falls in June or early July and the Eight Month usually falls ...

* Torgya *

Tshechu A tshechu ( dz, ཚེས་བཅུ།, literally "day ten") is any of the annual religious Bhutanese festivals held in each district or dzongkhag of Bhutan on the tenth day of a month of the lunar Tibetan calendar. The month depends on the pla ...

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Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival The Ubon Ratchathani Candle Festival ( th, งานประเพณีแห่เทียนเข้าพรรษาอุบลราชธานี), the most elaborate of the traditional parading of candles to wats ( th, แห่� ...

Uposatha The Uposatha ( sa, Upavasatha) is a Buddhist day of observance, in existence from the Buddha's time (600 BCE), and still being kept today by Buddhist practitioners. The Buddha taught that the Uposatha day is for "the cleansing of the defiled mind ...

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Vassa The ''Vassa'' ( pi, vassa-, script=Latn, sa, varṣa-, script=Latn, both "rain") is the three-month annual retreat observed by Theravada practitioners. Taking place during the wet season, Vassa lasts for three lunar months, usually from July ...

W

Wacho Wacho (also Waccho; probably from ''Waldchis'') was king of the Lombards before they entered Italy from an unknown date (perhaps c. 510) until his death in 539. His father was Unichis. Wacho usurped the throne by assassinating (or having assassi ...

(Start of Rain Retreat by Marma People and

) *

Wan Ok Phansa Wan Ok Phansa ( th, วันออกพรรษา, ; literally "day of going out of Vassa", ออก in Thai meaning exit or leave) is the last day of the Thai- Lao observance of Vassa. It occurs in October, three lunar months after the begi ...

* Wagyowai (End of Rain Retreat by Marma People and

) *

Water-Sprinkling Festival The Water-sprinkling festival (simplified Chinese 泼水节 ; traditional Chinese 潑水節; Pinyin: ''Pōshuǐ jié''), is a traditional festival of the Dai nationality marking the Solar New Year. The Dai are an ethnic minority of China who pr ...

Y

Yenya Indra Jātrā, also known as Yenyā (Nepal Bhasa: येँयाः), is the biggest religious street festival in Kathmandu, Nepal. The celebrations consist of two events, Indra Jātrā and Kumāri Jātrā. Indra Jātrā is marked by masked danc ...

Yeongsanjae ''Yeongsanjae'' (영산재, 靈山齋) is a Korean Buddhist ceremony which re-enacts Siddhartha Gautama delivering the sermon now known as the Lotus Sutra. The attendees would learn self-discipline from this ceremony, and it consists of various rit ...

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See also