LIFE's video: Yeon Deung Hoe Lotus Lantern Festival YeonDeungHoe Buddha s Birthday Celebration in Korea

Yeon Deung Hoe (연등회): The Lantern Parade in Seoul 2022 In Korea the birthday of Buddha is celebrated according to the lunar calendar. This day is called “Seokga tansinil”, meaning "Buddha's birthday" or “Bucheonim osin nal” meaning "the day when the Buddha came". It falls on the eighth day of the fourth month according to the lunar calendar and this year the celebration falls on May 6th. Buddha’s birthday is not only a holiday for the 15 million people who pray at Buddhist temples all over Korea on a daily basis, but a public holiday enjoyed by everyone. It is a carnival day when Korean culture and tradition is celebrated. Yeon Deung Hoe (연등회) is the highlight of the festivities for Buddha’s birthday. The lotus lantern festival is a parade of lotus lanterns through central Seoul. It usually takes place on the weekend before Buddha’s birthday. The participants in the parade first head to Dongguk University, which is one of the main Buddhist universities in Korea. They watch dance performances and ceremonies in the afternoon before beginning the lantern parade. The parade starts at Dongguk University and works its way along Jongro, the main street of central Seoul, before finishing at Jogyesa temple. It takes place in the early evening, but people start gathering along Jongro in the late afternoon in order to get a good view of the parade. Everywhere in the world, Buddha's Birthday is known as the Festival of the Lanterns. Colored paper lanterns with candles inside them are made that are mostly red, pink and gold. A small paper tag is hung from the bottom of the lantern and on that tag, you write your name and a wish or a hope that you carry in your heart. The largest lantern festival happens in downtown Seoul and this year runs from April 25 through to May 11 with the annual parade being the highlight. This year’s festival takes on added a far more sombre tone however as the grief from the recent ferry disaster continues to engulf the nation. In Seoul on Saturday night, participants holding funeral streamers bearing messages for victims of the capsized passenger ship Sewol, marched to commemorate the victims. South Korean Buddhists dedicated this annual lotus lantern festival, the highlight of its celebrations for Buddha's birthday, to those killed in the accident and pray for the safe return of possible survivors. History of Buddha's Birthday in South Korea Buddhism was first introduced to Korea in 372 AD, blending with elements of Korean shamanism. Buddhism was supported as the state ideology during the Goryeo period but was repressed during the Joseon era when Neo-Confucianism became dominant in the 14th century. Shakyamuni Buddha, the historical founder of Buddhism, was born in India 3,000 years ago. There are various opinions concerning the exact dates of his birth and death, but according to Buddhist tradition, he is said to have been born April 8th 1029 BC and died on February 15, 949 BC, although other Buddhist scholars place his birth five hundred years later. Shakyamuni Buddha was the son of the king of the Shakyas, a small tribe whose kingdom was located at the foothills of the Himalayas, south of what is now central Nepal, fifteen miles from Kapilavastu. Shakya of Shakyamuni is taken from the name of this tribe and muni means sage or saint. His family name was Gautama (Best Cow) and his given name was Siddhartha (Goal Achieved) though some scholars say this is a title bestowed on him by later Buddhists in honour of the enlightenment he attained. Even though many Buddhists observe Buddha's historical birth on April 8, the exact date remains in question. Although modern archaeological and historical research confirms that Prince Siddartha Gotama lived around this time. Lotus Lantern Festival A famous event to mark Buddha's Birthday is the Lotus Lantern Festival, or Yeon Deung Hoe in Korean, which takes place in the week before the date. People from all over the world will gather together in Seoul on the Saturday before Buddha's Birthday to watch as a huge lantern parade that lasts for two and a half hours, with over a hundred thousand participants, each holding glowing lanterns which represent a commitment to the Buddhist enlightenment teachings. Designated Korea’s Intangible Cultural Property of Korea No. 122, the festival dates back 1,200 years to the Silla Dynasty (57 BC-935), which was the peak of Buddhism on the Korean Peninsula. Buddha's Birthday in North Korea It is not celebrated as a public holiday, but people in North Korea honour the birthday of Buddha as a traditional holiday. Known as Chopail, it is a festival that celebrates the culture of the Buddhist population.