Devotees lights candle to offer their prayer at the Maya Devi temple during the celebrations marking 2560th Buddha Jayanti or Buddhas birthday at Lumbini,

Festivals and spiritual events

Dozens of festivals and spiritual events throughout the year offer the opportunity to join thousands of people in spectacular displays of devotion.

Buddha Jayanti is a special day for both Hindus and Buddhists in Nepal. On this day people celebrate the life of Lord Buddha; his Birth, Enlightenment and Mahaparinirvana (Death). – © Nepal Tourism Board

One of the most important festivals is Buddha Jayanti, also known as Buddha Purnima, which celebrates the birth of Buddha. To mark this occasion in the place where it occurred makes it even more special. Buddha Jayanti is celebrated during the full moon of May and also commemorates the enlightenment and the death of Buddha. At Lumbini, a procession is held in the morning, a formal program of cultural events takes place during the day, and at nigh the Mayadevi Temple is decorated with thousands of lamps.

Another important festival is Sakya Monlam, a mass peace prayer that has been held every year in Lumbini since 1993. For ten days in November or December, a huge gathering of thousands of monks and nuns sit together and chant more than 100,000 recitations of important prayers, including Samantabhadra’s Aspiration to Noble Deeds.

Not all of the festivals around Lumbini during the year are based on Buddhist events. There are also festivals celebrating days like New Year’s Eve and Nepali New Year. Sites around Lumbini also hosts festivals of other religions, including the Hindu celebrations of Deepawali and Holi and the Muslim Eid al-Fitr.