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Japanese, Burmese, Tibetan, Indian, Nepalese, Bhutanese, Chakma, Marma and Barua festivals often show the influence of Buddhist culture. Pagoda festivals in Myanmar are one example. In Tibet, India and Bhutan these festivals may include the traditional cham dance.
Lunar New Year festivals of Buddhist countries in east, south and southeast Asia also include some aspects of Buddhist culture, but they are considered cultural festivals as opposed to religious ones.
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Vesak, also known as Buddha Jayanti, Buddha Purnima and Buddha Day, is a holiday traditionally observed by Buddhists in South Asia and Southeast Asia as well as Tibet and Mongolia. The festival commemorates the birth, enlightenment (Nibbāna), and death (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha in Theravada, Tibetan Buddhism and Navayana.
The Vassa is the three-month annual retreat observed by Theravada practitioners. Taking place during the wet season, Vassa lasts for three lunar months, usually from July to October.
The Marma, formerly known as Moghs or Maghs, are the second-largest ethnic community in Bangladesh's Chittagong Hill Tracts, primarily residing in the Bandarban, Khagrachari and Rangamati Hill Districts. Some Marmas live in Bangladesh's coastal districts of Cox's Bazar and Patuakhali, while others live in Tripura, India and Myanmar. There are over 210,000 Marmas living in Bangladesh. Since the 16th century, the Marma have considered the Bengal's Chittagong Hill Tracts their home, where they have established the Bohmong and Mong Circles (chiefdoms).
Buddhists form about 0.61% of the population of Bangladesh. It is said that Buddha once in his life came to this region of East Bengal to spread his teachings and he was successful in converting the local people to Buddhism. About 1 million people in Bangladesh adhere to the Theravada school of Buddhism. Over 65% of the Buddhist population is concentrated in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region, where it is the predominant faith of the Rakhine, Chakma, Marma, Tanchangya, other Jumma people and the Barua. The remaining 35% are Bengali Buddhists. Buddhist communities are present in the urban centers of Bangladesh, particularly Chittagong and Dhaka.
Buddha's Birthday is a Buddhist festival that is celebrated in most of East Asia and South Asia commemorating the birth of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, later the Gautama Buddha, who was the founder of Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, Gautama Buddha was born c. 563–483 BCE in Lumbini, Nepal.
The Water Festival is the New Year's celebrations that take place in Southeast Asian nations such as Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand as well as among the Dai people of China. It is called the 'Water Festival' by Westerners because they notice people splashing or pouring water at one another as part of the cleansing ritual to welcome the New Year. Traditionally people gently sprinkled water on one another as a sign of respect, but as the new year falls during the hottest month in South East Asia, many people end up dousing strangers and passers-by in vehicles in boisterous celebration. The act of pouring water is also a show of blessings and good wishes. It is believed that at this Water Festival, everything old must be thrown away, or it will bring the owner bad luck.
The Rakhine people or Arakanese people are a Southeast Asian ethnic group in Myanmar (Burma) forming the majority along the coastal region of present-day Rakhine State. They possibly constitute 5.53% or more of Myanmar's total population, but no accurate census figures exist. Rakhine people also live in the southeastern parts of Bangladesh, especially in Chittagong Division and Barisal Division. A group of Rakhine descendants, living in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh at least since the 16th century, are known as the Marma people or Mog people.
Thingyan is the Burmese New Year Festival that usually occurs in middle of April. Thingyan is the first ever water festival celebrated in the world or the earliest water festival in water festivals. Thingyan has been celebrated since the Tagaung period(1-10 AD) of Myanmar and became famous during the Bagan period. It is a Buddhist festival celebrated over a period of four to five days, culminating in the New Year. The dates of the Thingyan Festival are calculated according to the Burmese calendar. The dates of the festival are observed as public holidays throughout Myanmar, and are part of the summer holidays at the end of the school year. Water-throwing or dousing one another from any shape or form of vessel or device that delivers water is the distinguishing feature of this festival and may be done on the first four days of the festival. The New Year takes place at virtually the same time as the new year celebrations of many countries in South Asia like China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Nepal, Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka.
Gunlā is the tenth month in the Nepal Sambat lunar calendar, the national lunar calendar of Nepal. It corresponds to August of the Gregorian Calendar.
Newar Buddhism is the form of Vajrayana Buddhism practiced by the Newar people of the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. It has developed unique socio-religious elements, which include a non-monastic Buddhist society based on the Newar caste system and patrilineality. The ritual priests (guruju), vajracharya and shakya form the non-celibate religious sangha while other Buddhist Newar castes like the Urāy act as patrons. Uray also patronise Tibetan Vajrayana, Theravadin, and even Japanese clerics. It is the oldest known sect of the Vajrayana tradition outdating the Tibetan sect of Vajrayana by more than 600 years.
The Mog are the Northwest Burmese people who live in the Indian state of Tripura.
Māgha Pūjā is the second most important Buddhist festival, celebrated on the full moon day of the third lunar month in Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Sri Lanka and on the full moon day of Tabaung in Myanmar. It celebrates a gathering that was held between the Buddha and 1,250 of his first disciples, which, according to tradition, preceded the custom of periodic recitation of discipline by monks. On the day, Buddhists celebrate the creation of an ideal and exemplary community, which is why it is sometimes called Saṅgha Day, the Saṅgha referring to the Buddhist community, and for some Buddhist schools this is specifically the monastic community. In Thailand, the Pāli term Māgha-pūraṇamī is also used for the celebration, meaning 'to honor on the full moon of the third lunar month'. Finally, some authors referred to the day as the Buddhist All Saints Day.
This is a list of holidays celebrated within the Buddhist tradition.
Asan is a ceremonial, market and residential square in central Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal. It is one of the most well-known historical locations in the city and is famed for its bazaar, festival calendar and strategic location. Asan has been described as one of the fine Newar examples of a traditional Asian bazaar. The Tuladhar, Maharjan, Shrestha, Bajracharya and Shakya castes make up most of the population.
Here is a list of glossary of Culture of India in alphabetical order:
Mohani or Mohni is one of the most important festivals among the Newars which involves a packed itinerary of religious services, pilgrimages, family gatherings and outdoor celebrations lasting several days. Special dinners known as Nakhtya, to which all the relatives are invited, continue for weeks later. Mohani is the equivalent of Nepal's biggest festival Dasain, and there are similarities and differences between the two.
Sand pagodas, are temporary pagodas or stupas erected from mud or sand as a means of cultivating Buddhist merit. The practice is common to Theravada Buddhists throughout mainland Southeast Asia, primarily in Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand.
Sangrai is the name of the New Year celebration of the Bangladeshi Marma and Rakhine ethnic groups, which is celebrated from April 13 to 15 every year. Although it is one of the main traditional ceremonies of the Marmas, the Rakhine also celebrate the New Year with their own rules. In the case of the Marmas, it is celebrated according to their Burmese calendar. The calendar of the Marmas is called "Mraima Sakraoy". The Marmaras observe Sangrai as a total of three days, including the last two days of the old year and the first day of the new year. Earlier, according to "Mraima Sacramento", these three days fell in the middle of April of the English calendar, but now they are observed on April 13, 14 and 15 in line with the English calendar. The traditional games of the Marmas are also held on the morning of the 13th with Pangchowai, the main Sangrai on the 14th and the water on the 15th.