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The Buddhist Calendar is an essential representation of dates per month for the people who follow Buddhism. Buddhists believe that observing holy days in the Buddhist culture is a way to connect with spirituality and get the blessings of Buddha, their first spiritual Guru. People who follow Buddhist dates religiously and also celebrate their festivals, must be looking forward to the Buddhist Calendar 2024. Hence, we bring you a list of Buddhism important dates and festivals for the year 2024.
Buddhist festival 2024 offers an opportunity for Buddhist communities to come together to strengthen their faith through rituals, prayers and celebrations. View the list of Buddhist important dates and festivals below to mark in your Buddhist Calendar 2024 India.
| Day | Date | Buddhist Festival 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| January 25, 2024 | Thursday | Mahayana New Year |
| February 10, 2024 | Saturday | Chinese New Year |
| February 15, 2024 | Thursday | Nirvana Day |
| February 24, 2024 | Saturday | Magh Puja Day |
| April 13, 2024 | Saturday | Theravada New Year |
| May 23, 2024 | Thursday | Vesak - Buddha Day |
| July 21, 2024 | Sunday | Asla, Religion Day |
| August 13, 2024 | Tuesday | Obon |
| December 28, 2024 | Sunday | Bodhi Day |
The Budha Calendar events are inspired by the principles of Buddhism, stated by Lord Buddha. It was first developed in ancient Burma. People will highly look forward to the Buddhist festival 2024, mentioned in the calendar as a time to teach deep Buddhist lessons to their kids or future generations.
These festivals help spread and preserve the teachings of the Buddha for future generations. They serve as reminders of the core values of Buddhism, like compassion, wisdom and moderation. Families come together to participate in prayers, chants and offerings to strengthen their spiritual connection.
All Buddhism important dates are marked on the basis of “Arya Asthanga” - the eightfold ideologies of the fourth noble truth (related to the end of suffering) values. They are -
The Budha Calendar 2024, like every other year, is majorly designed on the basis of all Theravada traditions. According to Theravada, the first ever year of the Buddhist Calendar is the year in which Lord Buddha was born. This information forms the basis of all the months in the Buddhist Calendar 2024 and is traditionally written in the traditional Pali language. However, the language differs when the calendar is shared between different South-Asian countries.
The Months in the Buddhist Calendar are basically 12 lunar months i.e. each new month is decided on the sighting of the New Moon. But to sync it with the Sun’s position, an extra month is added every leap year. Moreover, each month is alternating between 29 and 30 days.
Let us have a look at all the Buddhist Months and their duration as per the Gregorian Calendar.
| Buddhist Month Names (In Pali) | Duration | Gregorian Months |
|---|---|---|
| Citta | 29 | March–April |
| Vesākha | 30 | April–May |
| Jeṭṭha | 29 [30] | May–June |
| Āsāḷha | 30 | June–July |
| Sāvaṇa | 29 | July–August |
| Poṭṭhapāda | 30 | August–September |
| Assayuja | 29 | September–October |
| Kattika | 30 | October–November |
| Māgasira | 29 | November–December |
| Phussa | 30 | December–January |
| Māgha | 29 | January–February |
| Phagguṇa | 30 | February–March |
The Buddhist Calendar 2024 offers many opportunities for spiritual reflection and improving community bonding. The Buddhist Holidays 2024 are some of the major festivals in Buddhism where you can deepen your knowledge about spiritual practices and also make small kids learn life-changing principles in Buddhism. Let us have a look at them one by one.
Bodhi Day falls on the 8th day of the 12th lunar month and celebrates the day Buddha attained enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. It is a major celebration for Buddhists of the Mahayana tradition. On this important day, Buddhists gather in temples to listen to sermons and reflect on the teachings of Buddha about achieving enlightenment. Meditation and offerings are made to Buddha statues to pay homage to his achievement.
Mahayana New Year falls on the 2nd or 3rd day of the 1st lunar month and marks the new year for Buddhists of the Mahayana tradition. It is celebrated with prayers, offerings and family gatherings. Buddhists attend temples to listen to sermons by monks and participate in group meditation. They renew their commitment to Buddha's teachings and exchange greetings and gifts with loved ones on this joyful occasion.
In January, Buddhists celebrate Chinese New Year, also known as the Spring Festival. As per the Buddhist festival 2024 calendar, this will fall on the 22nd of January. This 15-day festival marks the start of the lunar new year. Buddhists hold religious ceremonies, clean their homes, and decorate their homes with red colours, which symbolise good luck and fortune.
On February 15th, India, Mahayana Buddhists observe Nirvana Day or Parinirvana Day, which observes Buddha’s death and entry into nirvana (liberation from worldly pleasures and sufferings). This will be the same for the Tibetan Buddhist calendar 2024 as well. Buddhists meditate on temporariness and letting go of earthly attachments. They visit temples and pray in the name of Lord Buddha.
On the full moon of February, Buddhists celebrate Magh Puja Day. This holy day commemorates an important gathering of 1,250 enlightened monks. Buddhists move to temples to hear teachings, light candles, and meditate. As per the Buddhist calendar 2024 India, this event is marked for the 7th of February and is an important day in the life of Lord Buddha.
The most important Buddhist festival, Vesak (also called Buddha Day), falls on May 23 this year. This day observes Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death. Buddhists gather at temples, decorate with flowers and lanterns, and reflect on Buddha’s teachings. At the same time, people also release captive or caged birds on this day to symbolise freedom. It is also famously known as Buddha Purnima in the Buddhist holidays 2024 Calendar.
In April, Theravada Buddhists ring in the New Year. It takes place three days before the sighting of the full moon. This is a time for renewal, resolutions to improve spiritual practice, and spending time with loved ones. Buddhists clean their homes, prepare special meals, and visit temples. As per the Buddhist New Year 2024 calculation, it can happen between April 24 and April 26.
From July 13th to 16th August, 2024, Japanese Buddhists will observe Obon, a festival honouring ancestral spirits. It is believed that the souls of the ancestors arrive on Earth during this time every year. Buddhists return to their hometowns, clean family graves, and light lanterns to guide spirits home. Obon is a joyous time involving dancing, bonfires, and family reunions.
The Buddhist Calendar is a lunisolar calendar. This means that the start of a year is decided by the phases of the Moon, while a new month always starts with the waxing of a New Moon. Moreover, understanding this combination of the Lunar calendar (lunar months) and Solar calendar (solar year) and how this calendar is calculated helps in appreciating the significance of the Buddhist festival 2024 list and their celebrations.
The Buddhist New Year 2024 calculation is based on two factors - the solar year and the time when Lord Buddha attained Parinirvana. Based on the Sun’s movement and the revolving of the Earth around it, there are changes in the number of days in a year, i.e. 365 days. Every fourth year, called leap year, an extra day and sometimes an extra month is added to correct the length of the year.
Next comes the time when Lord Buddha attained Parinirvana (Nirvana or freedom from worldly desires before death ). Since the Buddhist Calendar 2024 is based on the events that happened in the life of Lord Buddha, the first ever year that included the Buddhism important dates is counted to be around his death, i.e. 545 BC usually. That makes the year 2024 in the Buddhist text to be 2578 BE (Buddhist Era). Moreover, it is fixed that each New Year will start with a full moon in April (the birthday of Lord Buddha).
Although the Buddhist New Year is different for different countries as they base it on different events of Lord Buddha. There are three main New Years in the calendar - Mahayana Tradition New Year 2024 ( January 25th ), Chinese New Year 2024 & Tibetan Buddhist Calendar 2024 New Year ( February 10th) and Theravada New Year 2024 (24th April).
The Buddhist Months and dates for 2024 are basically lunar. This means that every new month starts with observing the New Moon. These months are also called sidereal months. At the same time, the 27 days the Moon takes to complete one orbit or cycle are called the sidereal days. This forms 27 star patterns called Nakshatras and 12 zodiac signs used for astrological calculations.
The days of the month are counted in two halves - Waxing (New Moon to Full Moon of 15 days) and Waning (Full Moon to New Moon of 15 days). This means that the sighting of a New Moon is usually the last day of the month. This makes the total days in a month to be either 29 days long or 30 days long.
The journey of Lord Gautam Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, indicates the presence of this religion since the 6th century BC in Northern parts of India. Later, the teachings and spiritual practices of Buddhism started spreading to other portions of Asia. The countries where people follow the Buddhist Calendar are Tibet, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and some parts of India and China. In fact, the Tibetan Buddhist calendar 2024 is quite popular. This led to more additions of important dates in the Buddhist calendar.
Through the teachings of Lord Buddha, followers got to know the Surya Siddhanta - calculation of Buddhist events on the basis of planets and other astronomical factors. In fact, the Buddhist Calendar 2024 India is based on Lord Buddha's principles collected through the deep spiritual study he underwent after leaving behind his comfort and luxury as a king. This makes noting down the Buddhist festival 2024 even more meaningful. These dates promote the importance of spiritual knowledge, self-awareness, and meditation.
The Buddhist Calendar 2024 will mark some of the most important festivals and events. Knowing the Buddhism important dates will not only make your trip to Buddhist places more meaningful but also allow you to deepen your understanding of significant Buddhist traditions. The Buddhist Festival 2024 Calendar helps people preserve their Buddhist cultural roots and pass on the teachings of Buddhism to the upcoming generation. These teachings are based on the life and lessons preached by the supreme lord in Buddhism - Gautam Buddha.
In ancient times, people used to be confused about Buddhist festivals and auspicious events as the ideologies and dates specified by different monks and teachers used to differ. After significant changes to the Buddhist calendar were made, important events were largely fixed on the journey of Lord Buddha in different seasons. These events are treated as a time to put emphasis on four Noble truths in Buddhism -
