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Next: 13 May 2027

Lotus Lantern Festival

For the Buddha's birthday, Korea hangs paper lanterns in the shape of lotus flowers.

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

What happens

Koreans keep the Buddha's birthday on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. In the weeks before, temples and streets are hung with thousands of paper lanterns, many folded petal by petal into the form of a lotus. The festival is called Yeondeunghoe, and UNESCO added it to its list of intangible heritage in 2020. On a weekend before the day itself, a long evening parade of lantern carriers and lit floats moves through central Seoul. Visitors can make a lotus lantern of their own at the temple fair.

The flowers

Sacred lotusThe lotus, the form given to the paper lanterns.Paper lanternMade by pasting paper petals one by one onto a frame.

More flowers and customs of Lotus Lantern Festival

Hydrangea Flowering shrubs with large heads that change color with soil pH 🇯🇵 Japan and 2 more · Flowering shrub Decoration Lotus Lantern Festival연등회 Korea’s lantern festival held for Buddha’s Birthday 🇰🇷 South Korea · Parade or display, Apr to May
About this page

Original text by the Phool desk, written with AI assistance. Background: "Buddha's Birthday" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from family to family and place to place. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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