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Next: 20 May 2027

Buddha Purnima

White clothes, white kheer, butter lamps and prayer flags at Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Lumbini.

People talking bath in Budhi Gandak river on the ocasion of Buddha purnima in Muzaffarpur, Bihar, India.
Photo: User: (WT-shared) Manoj nav at wts wikivoyage, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The colours of Buddha Purnima

Buddha Purnima is the name used in India, Nepal and Bangladesh for the full moon day of the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and passing. Pilgrims gather at Lumbini in Nepal, where he was born, and at Bodh Gaya and Sarnath in India. Most laypeople dress in white. Many eat and share kheer, white rice cooked in milk, recalling the bowl of milk rice that a village woman named Sujata gave the Buddha before his enlightenment. The Mahabodhi temple is hung with strings of five-coloured prayer flags and marigolds, and the Bodhi tree is watered and wrapped in cloth. Monks from many countries sit together: saffron and ochre robes from Sri Lanka and Thailand, maroon from Tibet, grey from Korea. Rows of butter lamps are lit at dusk.

#FBFAF4Pilgrim whiteThe dress of laypeople, and the milk rice.
#E58A1FRobe saffronRobes of Theravada monks.
#7A1F2ERobe maroonRobes of Tibetan monks.
#F1B93BLamp goldButter lamps at dusk.

Values are fair approximations, not official shades.

Read about the colours

WhiteLay dress and kheer.SaffronMonastic robes.MaroonTibetan robes.OchreThe earth dye of early robes.
About this page

Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Buddha's Birthday" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

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