Vesak? 5a3p2n
Poya day meaning "full moon". A public holiday, celebrated every month in order to commemorate the significant events that were recorded in Buddhism history. The reason why vesak is more important is because
Today was the day when lord Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) was born, attained enlightenment, and ed away.
All of these events happened in the same day in different years.
Why does one celebrate? 2p253u
Paying Homage
Before the lord Buddha ed away, he saw his attendant (Ananda) weeping next to him. The buddha had advised him to not weep but instead come to an understanding that all living things must perish and are not immortal. Moreover he advised to regard his teachings (The Dharma) as their teacher because...
How do you celebrate? 106t2y
Temples
Since today is a special day, people go to temples and recite stanzas that aren't recited on an average afternoon. These events are also known as සිල් (si.ll) where you go to a temple at 5 am, recite stanzas, light incense sticks, etc, until 5 pm.
Pandols
We make a billboard-like structure with pictures that depicts the significant moments that occurred during this day. It's hard to explain so I'll let the images do it.
Dansal
People start to put up a tent by the roadside and offer food for free. Rice, biscuits, plain tea, ice cream, you name it. Pretty much a food distribution event. I can assure you, you won't probably need lunch/dinner if you go through Colombo or other highly populated places
Of course I didn't explain all of it properly. Just wanted to give you a general idea of what today is like and what it was about.
PS
- I did take some notes from the wiki because I didn't know how to explain it all in English in some parts.
- I would Take my own photos but I don't have a phone so :p