TRAVEL NEWS
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April 17, 2009

Celebrating Vesak Singapore Style

 

Along with Singapore’s rich inherent cultural diversities, it celebrates many festivals.This is an essential part of Singapore’s culture since it is a cosmopolitan society where all races live and interact in harmony. Various ethnic populations celebrate their own cultures while mingling with others. Hence the day of Vesak holds much significance in Singapore’s calendar as it does in any other Asian country. Vesak Day in Singapore is celebrated around the month of March and is a yearly event. The entry to the Vesak Day festival is free and people can enter the temples freely without a fee.

Vesak is an extremely important occasion observed in Singapore. This day in Singapore is observed in remembrance of Lord Buddha's entry into Nirvana after attaining enlightenment. In Singapore usually on Vesak Day, huge crowds gather at various Buddhist temples around the city. Inside the Buddha temples the monks chant sacred hymns and a large number of devotees set caged-birds free. Setting the imprisoned birds free is considered as a graceful gesture which serves as a means of expressing respect to all living creatures in the world.

In order to gain a glimpse of festivities during Vesak in Singapore, tourists could go down to the Buddhist Lodge at River Valley Road, the Thai Buddhist Temple at Jalan Bukit Merah or the Lian Shan Shuang Lin Temple at Jalan Toa Payoh.
On this day, Buddhist youths in Singapore organize blood donation camps and distribute gifts and food to the poor people. During the evenings, candlelit processions are found walking across the streets of the city bringing a close to this colorful festival.

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