Thai Buddhists to celebrate Visakha Bucha Day

Buddhist all over Thailand will be celebrating the life and enlightenment of Lord Buddha this month.

Culture vultures catching flights to Thailand this month are in for a treat, as the Buddhist celebration of Visakha Bucha Day is due to fall on May 17th.

Visakha Bucha Day marks three key events in the life of Lord Buddha (his birth, enlightenment and passing into the next world), which happened more than 2,500 years ago.

To mark this momentous day, Buddhist monks across Thailand will be putting on a string of religious ceremonies for the next five weeks.

Visitors may pay respect to five Buddha relics, practice meditation every day and listen to sermons by well-known monks in the city of Nakhon Ratchasima.

Guests to the north eastern destination can also visit nine major temples and two religious sites, including Wat Phra Narai and the statue of Somdej Phra Buddhajarn To in Si Khiu district.

Key events taking place in the capital of Bangkok include the procession of King Rama IX’s Relics of Buddha on a movable throne, as well as a candlelit walk around the Sanam Luang temple.

Written by Alex Cochrane