Hong Kong: Devotees Celebrate Buddha’s Birthday at Temples

hong-kong-big-buddha-on-lantau-island
Big Buddha on Lantau Island in Hong Kong. Photo Credit: Béria L. Rodríguez.

Festivals and Holidays

The eighth Day of the fourth month of the Lunar Calendar is celebrated in many East Asian countries as the birthday of Buddha. It is an official holiday in Hong Kong, Macau, and South Korea. It falls on Wednesday 19 May in 2021.

The Birthday of Buddha, a.k.a. Buddha’s Birthday, has been an official holiday in Hong Kong since 1998, when it replaced the Queen’s Birthday as one of the city’s official bank holidays.

On Buddha’s Birthday, Buddhist devotees make pilgrimages to Buddhist temples throughout the former British Crown Colony, where they bathe statues of the Buddha in bowls of water.

The ritual is thought to cleanse the soul.

One of the biggest celebrations will be at the Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island, home of the Big Buddha.

Owing to the cornoavirus, the number of people visiting the Big Buddha in 2020 is likely to be much smaller than usual.

The Birthday of Buddha falls on Wednesday 19 May in 2021. Because it falls on Sunday 8 May in 2022, it will be celebrated on Monday 9 May.

Buddha’s Birthday falls on Friday 26 May in 2023. And it will fall of Wednesday 15 May in 2024.

Where

Po Lin Monastery, Ngong Ping, Lantau Island, Hong Kong. Telephone: (852) 2985-5248. 

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3 Replies to “Hong Kong: Devotees Celebrate Buddha’s Birthday at Temples”

  1. Woo hoo!! I just visited the Big Buddha 3 days ago! I had no idea Buddha’s birthday was right around the corner.

  2. Amazing!!! I liked this website so much it’s really awesome I liked your creativity your way.I have also gone through your other posts too and they are also very much appreciate able and I have got some sweet comments for them also now I’m just waiting for your next update to come as I like all your other posts… well I have also made a video hope you go through it Buddha , Buddha Jayanti

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