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Vesak
Paper lanterns and the six colours of the Buddhist flag: blue, yellow, red, white and orange, and all five together.
The colours of Vesak
Vesak marks the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha, on the full moon of May. In Sri Lanka every house hangs a Vesak kudu, a lantern of bamboo and tissue paper, usually eight-sided and in white or many colours, and towns build tall lit panels that tell stories of the Buddha's lives. Laypeople go to the temple in plain white, the dress of those keeping the precepts for the day. Streets are hung with the Buddhist flag, designed in Colombo in 1885. Its stripes are blue, yellow, red, white and orange, and a sixth band combines them. They are said to be the colours of the light that shone from the Buddha's body. Monks' robes run from saffron to maroon.
#0033A0Flag blueUniversal compassion.#FFD100Flag yellowThe middle way.#D62828Flag redThe blessings of practice.#FFFFFFFlag whiteThe purity of the teaching; also the dress of laypeople.#F77F00Flag orangeWisdom.Values are fair approximations, not official shades.
Read about the colours
Also part of it, and being written: Orange (One stripe of the Buddhist flag.).
Written by the Rang desk with AI assistance. Background: "Vesak" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.