Buddhism has a wide variety of holidays and festivals that are celebrated around the world. Some honor important events in the life of the Buddha—his birth, enlightenment, and death. Others mark days in the monastic calendar, honor ancestors, or ring in the new year. These occasions bring monastics and laypeople together for ceremonies, offerings, communal practice, and no small amount of festive food. This page introduces some of the most widely observed Buddhist holidays and the stories behind them.

What are Buddhist Holidays?

Buddhist holidays serve many functions. They mark key moments in the Buddhist year—the Buddha’s birth and awakening, the beginning and end of monastic retreats, the honoring of ancestral spirits—while also providing opportunities for merit-making through giving, ethical practices, and community rituals. They are also often occasions to clean one’s home and prepare special types of food. Many holidays are rooted in specific narratives and historical events: the anniversary of a monastery’s founding, the passing of a revered master, a story from the scriptures. Monastics and laypeople observe many holidays together, though often in different ways. Monks and nuns may recite the monastic code or engage in special practices, while laypeople visit temples, prepare offerings, and take on additional precepts. The interplay between these two roles shapes much of the Buddhist religious calendar.

The structure of that calendar is worth understanding. Most Buddhist traditions follow lunisolar calendars, and there are several—Indian, Chinese, and Tibetan being the most influential—along with regional variations used in Thailand, Korea, Japan, Mongolia, and elsewhere. Because of this, the same holiday can fall on different dates in different locations, and the same occasion may be celebrated in very different ways. Vesak, for instance, falls on the full moon of the second Indian lunar month, while the Chinese calendar places equivalent observances at different points in the year. Throughout this page, dates are given according to the relevant tradition’s calendar.

Buddhist holidays also reflect the long history of Buddhism’s movement across Asia. As the tradition spread, it absorbed and adapted preexisting local observances—harvest festivals, ancestral rites, new year customs—giving them Buddhist meanings while retaining their cultural flavor (the same is true of many holidays in other religions). Losar customs have roots in the pre-Buddhist rituals of Tibet; Ohigan derives partly from agricultural traditions in Japan. Such adaptation is central to how Buddhism has functioned as a living tradition in diverse cultures. As Buddhism has spread beyond Asia, diaspora communities and Western sanghas have continued this pattern, observing traditional holidays in new contexts and, in some cases, developing their own—marking occasions like Earth Day or Black History Month as expressions of Buddhist values in their adopted cultures.

The holidays listed here are grouped by type: commemorations of the Buddha’s life, monastic observances, ancestral festivals, and new year celebrations, among others. Even within these categories, significant variation exists. That diversity is part of Buddhism’s story.

Remembering the Buddha

Popular holidays recall the Buddha, whose birth, awakening, teaching, and death are the most widely celebrated events in the Buddhist world. In temples and homes, practitioners chant scriptures, meditate, and listen to sermons recounting various episodes from the Buddha’s life. These days are also occasions for merit-making—donations to monasteries and charities, the release of captive animals, and the renewal of vows. The holidays that follow are observed in different ways across traditions, although some overlap significantly.

Vesak/Wesak

• India and Nepal: Buddha Purnima, full moon, 2nd lunar month
• Sri Lanka: Vesak Poya, full moon, 2nd lunar month  
• Myanmar: Kason, full moon, 2nd lunar month
• Thailand: Visakha Puja, full moon, 6th lunar month 
• Kalmykia: Urs Sar, full moon, 5th lunar month
• Tibet: Saga Dawa, full moon, 4th lunar month  
• Buryatia: Donchod Khural, full moon, 4th lunar month
• Vietnam: Phat Dan, full moon, 4th lunar month  
• International Holiday: full moon in May

For many in the Buddhist world, Vesak is the most important holiday of the year. Its name comes from the second month of the ancient Indian lunisolar calendar, and the holiday falls on that month’s full moon. In the Theravada world, where it is also called Wesak, and in Tibetan Buddhist cultures, Vesak commemorates the Buddha’s birth, death, and enlightenment on a single day. In East Asian traditions, these events are marked on separate holidays.

Vesak has its origins in the celebrations of popular deities and bodhisattvas, and was instituted as a national holiday in Sri Lanka in 1884. From there, its recognition spread: By the 1950s, many Asian countries observed International Vesak Day, and in 1999, the United Nations recognized it as an international holiday. It was observed at the U.S. White House for the first time in 2021. Vesak is an occasion for chanting, meditation, candlelit processions, and acts of generosity, with celebrations varying widely by country and community.

Buddha’s Birthday and International Buddhist Day

• Japan: Hanamatsuri, April 8
• China: Fodan, 8th day, 4th lunar month
• Korea: Bucheonim Osin Nal, 8th day, 4th lunar month, a public holiday
• Vietnam: Phat Dan, 15th day, 4th lunar month 
• India and Nepal: Buddha Jayanti (part of Vesak), full moon, 2nd lunar month 
• In Theravada countries, this is celebrated as part of Vesak
• International Buddhist Day, April 8

In East Asia, the Buddha’s birthday is observed as a separate holiday; in Theravada countries, it is celebrated as part of Vesak. In Japan, it is called Hanamatsuri, the Flower Festival, and celebrated with flower offerings and the ritualized bathing of Buddha statues—a practice that recalls the legend of the dragon kings who bathed the newborn Siddhartha with perfumed water. China and Vietnam marked this holiday with lantern festivals and temple ceremonies. In Korea, where it is a national public holiday, the occasion coincides with an internationally famous lantern festival inscribed as a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. In 2014, Buddhist leaders from more than forty countries established International Buddhist Day, observed on the same date.

Bodhi Day

• Japan: Rohatsu, December 8
• China: Laba, 8th day, 12th lunar month 
• Korea: Seongdo Jaeil, 8th day, 12th lunar month
• South and Southeast Asia, Tibet: celebrated on Vesak

Bodhi Day commemorates the Buddha’s awakening and his triumph over Mara. In Zen Buddhism, it is customarily preceded by a weeklong intensive retreat, and on the eve of the holiday, practitioners often meditate through the night, recalling the Buddha’s all-night vigil before his enlightenment. In Korea, it is observed with temple ceremonies. During China’s Laba Festival, celebrated on the same date, monks distribute bowls of steaming rice porridge with nuts and dried fruits at Buddhist temples, echoing the food offered by the young woman Sujata to the Buddha on the eve of his enlightenment. In India, Tibet, and Southeast Asia, the Buddha’s awakening is commemorated as part of Vesak rather than as a separate holiday. 

Dharma Day

• India and Nepal: Asalha Puja, full moon, 8th lunar month 
• Mongolia: Kukhor Duchen, 4th day, 6th lunar month
• Sri Lanka: Esala Poya, full moon, 4th lunar month
• Tibet: Chokhor Duchen, 4th day, 6th lunar month
• Thailand: Asanha Bucha, full moon, 8th lunar month

Dharma Day commemorates the Buddha’s first teaching on the four noble truths and the eightfold path, delivered to five ascetics at the Deer Park in Sarnath, near modern-day Varanasi. Buddhists mark the day by chanting, making offerings at monasteries, and circumambulating stupas. It is also considered an auspicious day to begin a new venture or renew vows. In Thailand and Sri Lanka, it is among the most important public holidays of the year. In Tibetan Buddhism, it is called Chokhor Duchen—“Turning the Wheel Day”—marking the moment the wheel of the dharma was set in motion. Dharma Day also signals the beginning of the rain retreats, one of the major monastic observances. 

Miraculous Events

• Tibet: Lhabab Duchen, 22nd day, 9th lunar month 
• Buryatia: Lhabab Duisen, 22nd day, 9th lunar month 
• Thailand: Ok Phansa, full moon, 11th lunar month
• Myanmar: Thadingyut, full moon, 11th lunar month
• Sri Lanka: Vap Poya, full moon, 11th lunar month
• Tibet: Chotrul Duchen, 15th day, 1st lunar month

Some Buddhist festivals commemorate miraculous events from the Buddha’s life story. One of the most widely observed commemorates the Buddha’s descent from Trayastrimsa—the Heaven of the Thirty-Three Gods—where he spent three months teaching the abhidharma to his mother Maya, who had been born as a male deity in Tushita heaven. According to tradition, the Buddha descended on a triple celestial ladder manifested by Indra and Brahma, landing at Samkasya in India, one of the eight great places in the Buddha’s life. In Tibetan Buddhism, this event is called Lhabab Duchen; in Thailand, it is Ok Phansa, and in Myanmar, Thadingyut.

Chotrul Duchen, or Great Miracles Day, commemorates the Buddha’s fifteen-day performance of miracles at Sravasti to defeat six rival teachers and inspire faith in his teachings. Both Lhabab Duchen and Chotrul Duchen are among the four major holy days in the Tibetan tradition, and on each, virtuous and nonvirtuous actions are believed to be multiplied 10 million times. Common observances include lighting butter lamps and making offerings at stupas.

Parinirvana Day

• Japan, February 15 (some schools celebrate on February 8) 
• China, Korea, Vietnam: 15th day, 2nd lunar month 
• Bhutan: 15th day, 4th Bhutanese lunar month

Parinirvana Day commemorates the Buddha’s death and final liberation. Primarily observed in East Asia, the day is more solemn than celebratory. Practitioners read accounts of the Buddha’s final days from texts like the Mahaparinirvana Sutra and contemplate the teachings he gave before his death, with an emphasis on impermanence. As the Buddha is remembered to have died in Kushinagar while lying between two trees, temples and monasteries may display reclining Buddha images and statues, and hold memorial services.

Monastic Observances

Alongside the daily routines of monastic life, special observances mark the monthly and annual calendar. These observances are typically characterized by rituals, intensified practice, and specific rules of conduct—during the rains retreat, for instance, monastics must remain within the monastery grounds. Canonical narratives trace these traditions back to the time of the Buddha, though they have taken varied forms across time and cultures. Monastic observances often include lay participation, regularly bringing together the full Buddhist community.

Rains Retreat

• India, Myanmar: 1st day of the waning moon of the 4th lunar month to the full moon of the 7th lunar month
• Thailand: 1st day of the waning moon of the 8th lunar month to the full moon of the 11th lunar month

The rains retreat (Pali: vassa; Skt.: varsa) is one of the most widely observed monastic events in the Buddhist world, taking place annually during the three-month rainy season. According to tradition, it was established during the lifetime of the Buddha to prevent monastics from traveling during the monsoon, when walking could harm insects, worms, and newly planted crops. During this period, monastics remain within the monastery grounds, with less interaction with the outside world and a greater focus on study and contemplative practice. Scholars have suggested that this enforced stability may have contributed to the construction of the first permanent monasteries. The rains retreat is observed across Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana traditions and culminates in the Kathina ceremony. 

Kathina

• India, Myanmar: full moon of the 7th lunar month until the full moon of the 8th lunar month
• Thailand: full moon of the 11th lunar month until the full moon of the 12th lunar month

Kathina is observed as a festival month immediately following the rains retreat. The Kathina ceremony, or the robe-cloth offering, takes place during this time, with individual monasteries scheduling this observance at any point within that month. Its origins are described in the monastic code: A group of monks arrived at the Buddha’s residence with robes damaged from traveling in the monsoon rains, and the Buddha authorized a ceremony for the community to receive and distribute new cloth. Laypeople bring robes—typically three square meters of cloth—along with other gifts, which are offered to the entire monastic community and distributed among its members. Kathina remains a major observance in Theravada traditions and in diaspora communities worldwide. In Mahayana traditions, there is no equivalent festival period, though the practice of laypeople offering robes to monastics is common.

Uposatha

• Southeast Asia: full moon, new moon, and quarter moons of each lunar month 
• Sri Lanka: full moon and new moon of each lunar month

Uposatha days are regular communal observances. In Theravada communities, they are held four times a month, on the full moon, new moon, and quarter moons; in Sri Lanka, twice a month. Monastics formally gather to recite the monastic rules of conduct (Pali: patimokkha; Skt.: pratimoksa) and confess misdeeds—traditionally, a ceremony held at monasteries or temples with four or more monastics present. Laypeople dressed in white often spend much of the day at the monastery, preparing food for monastics, listening to chanting and sermons, and making offerings. Laypeople often observe the eight precepts for the day, which include celibacy, fasting after midday, and abstaining from entertainment. Mahayana traditions maintain similar monastic observances, though they are generally less elaborately structured and not seen as public events. All major Buddhist holidays, including Vesak, fall on Uposatha days. 

Sangha Day

• India and Nepal: Magha Puja, full moon, 3rd lunar month
• Thailand: Makha Bucha, full moon, 3rd lunar month 
• Sri Lanka: Navam Poya, full moon 3rd lunar month 
• Myanmar: Tabaung, full moon, 12th lunar month 
• Laos: Boun Maka Busa, full moon, 3rd lunar month 
• Cambodia: Meak Bochea, full moon, 3rd lunar month 
• Less prominent in the Mahayana world, though some communities mark it

Sangha Day commemorates a spontaneous full moon gathering of 1,250 enlightened monks near Rajagaha—all ordained by the Buddha, including his disciples Mahakashyapa, Sariputra, and Maudgalyayana among them. During this gathering, the Buddha summarized his teachings with the famous injunction to avoid evil, do good, and purify the mind. The event marks the auspicious founding of the monastic community. It is observed with temple offerings, meditation, and processions honoring the three jewels.

Ancestor Holidays

Buddhist ancestor holidays blend doctrinal teachings with local customs and popular beliefs. These occasions bring communities together to express gratitude and maintain a connection with deceased relatives through ritual offerings and memorial services. Offerings to restless spirits and hungry ghosts (Pali: peta; Skt.: preta) are common, known by many names, and observed in many forms. The transfer of merit to the dead—the idea that virtuous acts performed by the living can benefit those in other realms—is a central concept across these holidays. In monasteries, the death anniversaries of past masters may be observed alongside more popular lay festivals. The holidays described below represent some of the most widely observed ancestor festivals in the Buddhist world. 

Ghost Festivals

• China: Pudu, 15th day, 7th lunar month  
• Korea: Beakjung, 15th day, 7th lunar month
• Vietnam: Tet Trung Nguyen, the 15th day, 7th lunar month
• Cambodia: Pchum Ben, fifteen days, starting with the new moon, 10th lunar month
• Laos: Boun Khao Padap Din, 15th day, 9th lunar month  
• Thailand: Sat Thai, fifteen days, starting with the new moon, 10th lunar month

Hungry ghost festivals are rooted in the Ullambana Sutra, a Mahayana text in which the Buddha’s disciple Maudgalyayana goes to the underworld to free his mother from the realm of the hungry ghosts. During the Chinese and Vietnamese hungry ghost festivals, families honor ancestors and appease wandering spirits with food, incense, and burning joss paper, a currency offered to support beings in the afterlife. At public rituals and celebratory performances, the front row seats are left empty, reserved for spirits who attend.

Cambodian Buddhists observe a distinct fifteen-day festival during which laypeople visit pagodas at dawn—the time when the gates to the hells are open—to offer food to wandering spirits, including those with no living relatives to make offerings. In Theravada communities, the Petavatthu—a Pali canon text describing the state of hungry ghosts—provides a scriptural basis for offerings made at the close of the rains retreat, when monastics are considered especially capable of benefiting the dead. Common themes across these festivals are filial piety, compassion, and the power of merit transfer.

Obon

• Traditional date: 15th day, 7th lunar month
• Western calendar: July 15, in Tokyo, Tohoku, and Hokuriku
• Western calendar: August 15, across most of Japan

The Obon Festival is closely linked with hungry ghost festivals observed in Mahayana Buddhism. Traditionally held on the 15th day of the 7th lunar month, Obon is now celebrated on either July 15 or August 15, depending on the region—a variation reflecting Japan’s shift to the Gregorian calendar during the Meiji Restoration. It is one of the most important holidays in Japan, and many people travel to their hometowns to celebrate with family.

On the first day, celebrants light small fires or lanterns in front of their houses to guide ancestral spirits home, and it is customary to make offerings at gravesites and temples. On the second day, celebrants perform folk dances in the streets. Called bon odori, the dances recall the joy of Maudgalyayana when he freed his mother from the realm of hungry ghosts. On the third day, luminous paper lanterns—sometimes by the hundreds or thousands—are set afloat in lakes, rivers, and the ocean to guide the spirits back to their resting places. On the fourth day, families return to burial sites to tidy graves and say farewell until the following year. Obon has traveled the world with Japanese emigration and is celebrated by diaspora communities in the United States, Brazil, and Argentina, among many other places.

Higan/Ohigan

• Japan: spring and fall equinoxes 

Ohigan is a weeklong Japanese holiday for honoring one’s ancestors, observed twice a year during the spring and fall equinoxes. The name translates as “crossing over to the other shore”—a reference to nirvana, the far shore beyond the ocean of samsara—and the equinox is understood as a time when the distance between the worlds of the living and the dead is shortest. People clean and tend family graves and decorate them with flowers, a tradition rooted partly in agricultural origins, when honoring ancestors was connected to ensuring a good harvest. Buddhist practices associated with the holiday include chanting and contemplation of the six perfections (Skt.: paramita). Special sweets made of sticky rice wrapped in sweetened red bean paste are eaten—ohagi in the fall and botamochi in the spring.

Holidays for Buddhist Masters

• India: Ambedkar’s Birthday (Ambedkar Jayanti), April 14 
• Worldwide: Dalai Lama’s Birthday, July 6th 
• Japan: Nichiren (memorial), February 16
• Japan: Dogen, January 26 (birthday) and September 29 (memorial)  
• Tibet: Tsongkhapa (memorial), 25th day, 10th lunar month 
• Worldwide: Thich Nhat Hanh Continuation Day, October 11

The death anniversaries of masters within a given lineage are marked with ceremonial gatherings commemorating their passing. Practices vary across traditions, but it is common for disciples to visit the reliquary stupa of the master or gather at monasteries and temples to chant scriptures, offer incense, and recount stories and teachings from the master’s life. In Tibetan Buddhism, these commemorations are often major observances—involving large monastic gatherings, butter lamp offerings, and recitation of the master’s teachings—reflecting the tradition’s emphasis on lineage and guru devotion. Birthdays of important figures are increasingly recognized as well. The dates listed here are intended only as examples: They represent a small selection of the many such commemorations, both historical and contemporary. 

New Year Celebrations

Buddhist new year celebrations typically begin on the first day of a region’s lunar calendar and take place anywhere from late January through April. Celebrants clean their homes, symbolically sweeping away the difficulties of the departing year and welcoming auspicious opportunities in the one ahead. In many traditions, it is customary to make offerings at monasteries and sacred sites, take precepts, renew vows, and dedicate merit for health, success, and well-being. Many Buddhist celebrations have absorbed pre-Buddhist local customs, giving them a character that blends religious observance with broader cultural traditions. A few of the most widely known are described below, but new year celebrations take many forms and are observed in virtually every Buddhist culture.  

Chinese Lunar New Year

The Lunar New Year is a major cultural holiday in China and is widely celebrated in Chinese diaspora communities around the world. For Buddhists, it is a time to visit temples, honor the Buddha, and make offerings, with rituals centered on purifying misdeeds from the previous year and renewing intentions for the one ahead. It is traditional to abstain from eating meat on the first day of the new year and to release captive animals—birds, fish, or turtles—as a merit-making practice. Prayers for health, prosperity, and well-being are made at temples throughout the festival period.

Tibetan Losar

Losar, the Tibetan Lunar New Year, is a multiday celebration observed across Tibetan Buddhist communities in Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, Mongolia, and the greater diaspora. Just before the new year, a ritual is performed to purify misdeeds and remove obstacles from the year ahead. Monastics gather for ceremonies in the early morning, and throughout the first day of the year, people visit Buddhist teachers at their monasteries and residences. One of the most popular events is the lama dance, in which monks perform in ornate silk costumes and masks. Along with wearing festive clothing and hanging new prayer flags, Tibetans sing, dance, give gifts, and cook special meals. Losar has pre-Buddhist roots in Tibetan culture, and its customs reflect that long history. In areas where Tibetan Buddhism has spread, new year festivities are called by other names—Sagaalgan in Buryatia, Zul in Kalmykia—and are celebrated in unique ways.  

Japanese Shogatsu

Shogatsu, the Japanese New Year, begins on January 1—unusual among Asian new year celebrations—reflecting Japan’s adoption of the Gregorian calendar during the Meiji Restoration. The first visit of the new year to a Buddhist temple or Shinto shrine, called hatsumode, is considered especially important in setting the tone for the year ahead, and the blending of Buddhist and Shinto practice on this occasion is characteristic of Japanese religious life. During the holiday, temples ring their bells 108 times to dispel the 108 afflictions recognized in Buddhist teachings. Houses are decorated with new ornaments, especially around the entryway, to symbolize a fresh beginning. Traditional foods include osechi ryori, a selection of dishes served in ornate lacquered containers.

Thai Songkran

Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year, falls on April 13, when the sun moves from Pisces into Aries according to the Thai solar calendar. Thailand now officially observes January 1as its civil New Year, but Songkran remains a national holiday and one of the most important holidays of the new year. The festival is famous for jubilant water fights in the streets, which signify the ritual cleansing of misdeeds from the previous year. Celebrants also wash Buddha statues, visit temples, and make offerings to monastics. In northern Thailand, people carry sand to temples to symbolically release the impurities of the departing year, and sand stupas (Thai: chedi) are built outside temples and decorated with sacred flags.

Bodhisattva and Tantric Holidays

Mahayana and Vajrayana traditions share many holidays with the broader Buddhist world but also maintain observances that reflect their own distinctive character. In Mahayana Buddhism, bodhisattvas—those who vow to achieve buddhahood for the benefit of all sentient beings—are at the center of numerous festivals, with figures such as Avalokiteshvara, Tara, and Ksitigarbha venerated on specific days throughout the year. In Vajrayana Buddhism, the lunar calendar structures a cycle of monthly feast offerings centered on tantric deities and lineage figures. Many of these observances are concentrated in Tibetan Buddhist cultural regions, including Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal, and Mongolia. 

Bodhisattva Day

• Japan: Jizo Bon, August 23–24
• China: Guanyin, 19th day, 2nd lunar month (birthday); 19th day, 6th lunar month (enlightenment); 19th day, 9th lunar month (renunciation) 
• Tibet: Drolma Tsogkhor (Tara Day), 8th day of each lunar month 
• Buryatia: Maidarai Khural (Maitreya Day), between the 4th and 6th lunar month (day and month vary)

Bodhisattvas are at the center of numerous Mahayana holidays and festivals. In some traditions, a bodhisattva is venerated monthly; in others, observances fall on specific days marking key events in the bodhisattva’s sacred biography. Tara is venerated on a special day each month in Tibetan Buddhism. Avalokiteshvara is honored twice a year during Rato Machhindranath Jatra, when a sacred image of the bodhisattva travels through the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, on a ceremonial chariot. In China, this same bodhisattva is called Guanyin and is typically depicted in female form, with three separate holidays marking her birthday, enlightenment, and renunciation.

Ksitigarbha—called Dizang in China, Jizo in Japan, and Jijang in Korea—is venerated throughout East Asia as the bodhisattva who rescues beings from hell realms. Holidays for Samantabhadra, Manjushri, and Maitreya are also widely observed in Mahayana communities. These examples represent a small selection of the many bodhisattva days observed throughout the year.  

Dakini Day

• Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan: Khandro Tsok, 25th day of each lunar month

Dakini Day is a monthly Vajrayana observance honoring the feminine embodiment of wisdom and enlightenment. Dakinis—literally “sky-goers”— are female beings who appear in visionary experiences and serve as energetic forces inspiring insight and awakening. Each month, tantric practitioners gather to perform feast offerings (Tib.: tsok), a ritualized form of communal practice involving mantra recitation, visualization, and offerings to prominent female deities such as Yeshe Tsogyal. Dakini Day reflects the central role of feminine wisdom (Skt: prajna) in Vajrayana practice and is among the most regularly observed days in the tantric calendar.  

Guru Day

• Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan: Lama Tsok, 10th day of every lunar month 

Guru Day is a monthly Vajrayana observance centered on devotion to the spiritual teacher, who is essential for transmitting initiations and esoteric teachings. Padmasambhava, the 8th-century Indian master credited with bringing tantric Buddhism to Tibet, is the most widely venerated figure on this day, particularly in the Nyingma school, where each month’s observance focuses on a different manifestation of Padmasambhava. Practitioners perform guru yoga, mantra recitation, and feast offerings to honor the guru and receive blessings. Observed in all Tibetan Buddhist schools, Guru Day reflects the tradition’s understanding that the living relationship between teacher and student is itself a vehicle of awakening. 

Kalachakra Day

• Tibet, Bhutan: Dukhor Duchen, 15th day, 3rd lunar month
• Buryatia: Duinkhor Khural, 3rd day, 3rd lunar month

Kalachakra Day is observed by Tibetan Buddhists but primarily in the Gelug and Jonang schools, which focus on the teachings of the Kalachakra, or “Wheel of Time,” Tantra. The effects of reciting mantras, making offerings, and other positive actions are believed to be greatly magnified on this day. In Bhutan, blessings for vehicles and machinery are also performed on this occasion. The Dalai Lama and other renowned teachers have regularly given large-scale initiations on Kalachakra Day, drawing practitioners from around the world. 

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