HAPPY 2,555TH BIRTHDAY BUDDHA!

HAPPY 2,555TH BIRTHDAY BUDDHA!

This year, Buddhists celebrate the 2,555 natal day of Buddha (Siddharta Gautama). Korea has its own way of celebrating this birthday and the highlight will be the lantern parade held at the streets of downtown Seoul.

Here is a post from the Joong Ang Daily:

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2935668

Every spring around this time of year, central Seoul transforms into a sea of light, as paper lanterns in celebration of Buddha’s Birthday turn the cement and concrete of the cosmopolitan capital into an ethereal, holy space.
The annual three-day Lotus Lantern Festival, or Yeondeunghoe in Korean, is a part of the celebration leading up to Buddha’s Birthday and will run from Friday until Sunday. Of course, the main attraction will be the colorful lanterns made with hanji, or traditional Korean mulberry paper, hung at Buddhist temples and in cities and towns nationwide. 

Lighting lanterns is a symbol of Buddha’s enlightenment of the world; the light stands as a metaphor for his wisdom and compassion. Separately, each of the different lantern shapes conveys its own message. For example, a fish lantern represents self-control and diligence in one’s spiritual practice and a watermelon represents fertility.
Traditionally, around 100,000 lanterns are lit up around the nation. In Seoul alone there will be around 20,000 lanterns decorating the streets, according to the Celebration Committee for Buddha’s Birthday.

Buddha’s Birthday, a national holiday in Korea, falls on May 10 this year. It is on the eighth day of the fourth month of the lunar calendar.

The folk festival, the biggest Buddhist event in Korea, began during the Goryeo Dynasty and was relaunched as a national holiday in 1996. The festival had strong, religious overtones at first but through the years it has evolved into a celebration that includes participants from all religious backgrounds as well as Koreans and expatriates.

	Foreigners enjoy the Lotus Lantern Festival last spring in Seoul.

In fact, since around 2000, the number of expats at the festival has grown to such an extent that last year more than 30 percent of all visitors were non-Korean, according to Kang Mun-jeong, an events coordinator with the Celebration Committee for Buddha’s Birthday. The committee estimates around 500,000 people will participate in this year’s festival.

“Unlike in previous years, we are holding our highlight event, the lantern parade, on Saturday, not Sunday, because of requests from expats in Korea, so that they can fully enjoy the festivities without the burden of a working day the next day,” said Kang.

“In a lot of major cities, the foreign presence at these festivities is greater than that of Koreans.”

In Seoul, a vast array of activities has been organized for the three-day festival, such as exhibitions of traditional lanterns, street and stage performances with song and dance, and a large-scale lantern parade in the central part of the city.

First, there will be an exhibition of traditional lanterns held at Bongeun Temple, near COEX in Samseong-dong, southern Seoul, starting Friday through next Tuesday. During the “Buddhist Cheer Rally” event on Saturday, from 4:30 to 6 p.m. at Dongguk University Stadium, a private university with Buddhist origins, performers will dance and sing in hanbok, or traditional Korean clothing. 

The lantern parade, the highlight of the festival, will be held on Saturday from 7 to 9:30 p.m. along the main street of Jongno, from Dongdaemun to Jogye Temple - the home of Korea’s largest Buddhist sect, the Jogye Order of Buddhism. 

Later that day will be a post-parade celebration held at Jonggak intersection in central Seoul from 9:30 to 11 p.m. During the post-parade event, hundreds of bright pink lotus lanterns will be lit up, and there will be dance performances in which visitors can participate as well. 

On Sunday, the festivities kick off again with the start of the Buddhist Street Festival, which starts at noon on the main street in front of Jogye Temple. During the event, which will continue until 7 p.m., there will be classes on lantern-making and printing Buddhist sutras on wood. Visitors will also be able to enjoy temple food cooked by Buddhist chefs and participate in Korean folk games. 

At this time, there will be performances in front of Jogye Temple. Groups from other Asian countries, including Tibet, Mongolia, Nepal and Sri Lanka, will perform traditional dances and songs. 

A final celebration will take place from Insa-dong to the main street in front of Jogye Temple from 7 to 9 p.m., where performers and visitors will join together for one last celebration and parade.