I hope you are all well. Today I am participating in the "The most Famous Festival Of My Country" contest organized by @abdullahw2. First of all, I would like to invite some of my friends to participate in this contest.
@arshani, @enamul17 and @samima1

Contest link :-
https://steemit.com/hindwhale-community/@abdullahw2/contest-alert-or-or-the-most-famous-festival-of-my-country

What is the most famous festival of your country? When it is celebrated or occurs?

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The main ethnic groups in our country are Sinhalese, Tamils ​​and Muslims, and the main ethnic group is the Sinhalese. So today I am talking about the Vesak festival, which is one of the main festivals celebrated by the Sinhalese people. Vesak is a religious festival celebrated with great enthusiasm by the Sinhalese Buddhist people for about a week. This is celebrated every year starting from the Vesak Poya day in May and is celebrated for about a week by organizing various events.

This year's Vesak festival is only about a month and a half away. So I hope to share with you in an article about how we celebrate Vesak in the future.

What is the significance of that festival in your country's traditions and in your religion?

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The importance of the Vesak festival is that the birth, enlightenment and passing away of our teacher, the Buddha, all three events took place on the great Vesak full moon day. After being born as Prince Siddhartha, after living as a layman for a while, he became bored with his secular life and abandoned it, became Buddha and preached the Dhamma to the people of the world and finally passed away. So, because these three special events occurred on the Vesak Poya day, all Buddhists celebrate that day with great show by performing various religious rituals. Various creations are also made to symbolize these three special events that occurred in the life of the Buddha.

How is that festival celebrated? Is there any traditional foods or activities linked to it?.

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Various activities are held to celebrate the Vesak festival, the main of which is to go to a religious shrine on the Vesak Poya day and observe the precepts. In addition, Vesak lanterns are made and displayed in homes and the garden is illuminated with various colorful bulbs. Also, as I mentioned earlier, the Vesak festival is celebrated for 7 days. The relics of the Buddha and the Arahants are displayed in various Buddhist religious shrines and the people are given the opportunity to worship the relics. Also, in almost every area, a pantheon is built and various Dansalas are held concurrently. These Dansalas provide free food not only to Buddhists but also to all people, and a large number of Dansalas are organized throughout the country on the occasion of Vesak Poya.

As can be seen from the picture above, Vesak lanterns and pantheons are erected in almost every part of the country, and the entire country is colorful and illuminated throughout the month of Vesak. People also do not forget to visit various areas to see the Vesak decorations.

What is one unique fact about this festival that most people don’t know?

As I mentioned above, this festival is a major festival celebrated by the Sinhala Buddhist community. It is a religious festival associated with the Buddhist community and is celebrated to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and passing away of the Buddha. A unique fact about this festival is that although the Vesak festival is celebrated by the Buddhist community, people of other religions can also view the Vesak decorations and participate in the offerings and dansals. There is no religious difference for this.

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🌼Thanks for reading🌼

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