Vesak Day 2025

Vesak Day is an important moment for Buddhists around the world to commemorate three sacred events: the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha. This year, Vesak Day falls on May 12 2025. This celebration is not only full of spiritual meaning, but is also a rich and colorful cultural tradition.

The history of Vesak Day is rooted in the birth of Siddhartha Gautama, the future Buddha, in Lumbini, Nepal, around 563 BC. At the age of 35, he attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gaya, India, and became known as Gautama Buddha. At the age of 80, he died in Kusinārā, India.

Vesak Day is a moment to reflect on the teachings of Gautama Buddha, namely the Noble Eightfold Path (Asta Arya Angga) which leads humans to enlightenment and freedom from suffering. This celebration is also an opportunity to practice the noble values ​​of Buddhism such as love, peace and wisdom.

In Indonesia, Vesak Day is usually centered on the Borobudur Temple Complex, Magelang. The reason is because Borobudur Temple is a sacred place for Buddhists. This sacred moment was born to mark the anniversary of the birth, enlightenment and death of Gautama Buddha.

In Indonesia, the Vesak celebration is not only full of spiritual meaning, but is also colored by unique traditions that reflect cultural richness. Not only is it done at Borobudur Temple, these rituals and traditions can also be found at other temples such as Mendut Temple, Sam Poo Kong Temple, Semarang, and many more. You can also see these traditions and rituals in Thailand, you know! 

Buddhists throughout the world celebrate Vesak with various traditions and rituals such as Flowers & candle offerings, reading Dhamma, meditation, and Fang Seng.

For those of you who want to experience the solemnity of the Vesak ritual procession, you can watch several activities such as bathing the statues and releasing lanterns at the monastery. Do you like big festivals? You can join in the celebration by visiting the Vesak Lantern Festival at Borobudur Temple!

It doesn't stop there, you can visit Sewu Temple, Sleman to Mendut Temple, Magelang to immortalize religious activities, namely bathing and decorating statues. At this moment, Buddhists flock to clean the statue as a form of respect and love for the Buddha.