The ultimate guide to Vesak Day in Singapore

On Vesak Day, devotees gather at the break of dawn to raise the Buddhist flag and sing hymns. They give offerings like flowers, candles and joss sticks, which through their withering and burning, symbolise the decay and destruction that life is subject to. This is a day of goodwill, so Buddhists are encouraged to spread happiness through volunteering, and to refrain from killing of any kind. So, practitioners tend to stick to a meat-free diet on Vesak Day. In other countries, Buddhists may also release caged animals – but that's banned in Singapore to protect the local ecosystem. 

When Buddha was born, it's believed that devas and spirits made heavenly offerings by showering him with sacred waters from the sky. On Vesak Day, temples set out altars with small statues of an infant Buddha, as well as small basins filled with water and flowers. Visiting devotees re-enact the events at Buddha's birth by 'bathing' the statue with the scented water as a way to cleanse any bad karma. 

Under normal circumstances, Vesak Day would end in large candlelight processions where you can witness the 'three steps, one bow' practice. For two hours, devotees shuffle on both knees, bowing at every third step while they pray for blessings and repentance. It is the Mahayana Buddhists (mainly from the Chinese community) that take part in this practice. 

Theravada Buddhism is practised by Sri Lankan and Burmese Buddhists in Singapore. This division of Buddhism is said to be the oldest, and the more conservative, of the two main strains. It has many differing practices from Mahayana Buddhism, including one ritual on Vesak Day: they cook a pot of rice in milk to create a pudding, reminiscent of the rice milk (called 'kheer') that Buddha accepted from the milkmaid Sujata which gave him the strength to attain enlightenment.