Gautama Buddha is the prince Siddhartha Gautama who founded Buddhism. The birth of Gautama Buddha is Buddha Jayanti also called as Vesak Day / Wesak Day / Buddha Purnima / Buddha’s Birthday is an major Buddhist festival celebrated world wide.
The birthday is lord Gautama Buddha varies every year as it follows lunar calendar and falls primarily in Baisakh month of the Buddhist calendar and the Bikram Sambat of Hindu calendar. It usually falls in April or May month of the Western Gregorian calendar.
The corresponding Western Gregorian calendar dates varies from year to year:
2016: May 21
2017: May 10
2018: May 29
2019: May 19
Buddha Purnima or Buddha Jayanthi id a public holiday in India and specially celebrated in Sikkim, Ladakh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bodh Gaya, various parts of North Bengal such as Kalimpong, Darjeeling, and Kurseong, and Maharashtra.
Buddhist People go to common Viharas to observe a rather longer-than-usual, full-length Buddhist sutra, as something like a service. The usual dress is pure white.
Non-vegetarian food is normally avoided. Kheer, a sweet rice porridge is commonly served to recall the story of Sujata, a maiden who, in Gautama Buddha’s life, offered the Buddha a bowl of milk porridge.
Informally called “Buddha’s Birthday”, it actually commemorates the birth, enlightenment (nirvāna), and death (Parinirvāna) of Gautama Buddha in the Theravada tradition.
