Visakha = name of Lunar Mansion / name of female devotee of Buddha - Pali Dictionary

Pujja = homage / honorable / respectful - Pali Dictionary

Buddhist cultures all over the world will celebrate by visiting local temples, doing good deeds, meditating and bringing offerings for people to share. Homes may be decorated with lanterns and people may wear white clothes during the celebrations.

The date of Vesak changes each year, falling on the date of the first full moon of the ancient lunar month of Vesakha but is always between May and June.

Buddhism is not a theistic religion, meaning there is no single god who created the world. Instead, most commonly Buddhists follow the teachings of a man called Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, who was born in Nepal in 5 B.C

Gautama believed that material things did not cause happiness and spent his life travelling as a homeless man to witness the suffering of the world. After years of these travels and meditation, he became spiritually aware and reached enlightenment. From this he earned the title of the Buddha, meaning awakened one.

We would like to wish a happy Visakha (Vesak) Day to all our fellow Buddhist practitioners and monks and nuns celebrating.