It is more silent than other Vesak. Environment is also beautiful. Buddhism is one of the oldest religions in the world, and it is followed in many Asian countries. This is our holy day, the day in which our Siduhath prince was born, when attained enlightenment and became the Lord Buddha, and also the death of lord buddha. This Vesak festival is celebrated all around the world Buddhists.

First of all, I would like to tell you and remind you gratefully about Sir Henry Steel Olcott and Sir Lakshman Kadiragamer. Because, During the rule of Western nations in Sri Lanka, the Vesak festival was severely hampered. In 1815, the white rulers agreed to protect Buddhism from the Kandyan Pact, but it was only a statement. Olcott worked hard to make Vesak Poya a public holiday in Sri Lanka. Also Lakshman Kadirgamar, a Tamil national, worked hard to make Vesak Poya an international holiday in 1999, Due to his commitment, the United Nations has declared Vesak Poya Day an International Holiday since 2000. Because of those grateful people, so many people celebrate Vesak with their family. That’s why I mentioned both of them here.

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Today I am relieved from my busy life. I spend time with my family members. It was such a beautiful day. I made so many lanterns with my sisters. Those are beautiful lanterns. We decorated them. Nangi is a little bit jovial. She and I were so happy when we made lanterns. She made small lanterns even using A-4 sheets. I helped her by decorating lanterns. We hung all the lanterns and lit them. It was so colorful and beautiful. After that, we set bulbs for getting more beautiful to our decorations.

It is a little bit sad that we cannot go to the temple. Because the temple is the most favorite place to go in my life. As we all know we are celebrating this religious festival during a spreading global pandemic. So first we must stay safe.

When I was looking at my house it suddenly reminded me how we went everywhere in the last few years at Vesak. I like to go to Colombo when celebrating Vesak. Gangarama temple is the most favorite place I have visited. When I was studying in university I went to Gangarama temple on a Vesak day with my friends. It was like heaven. Everywhere lit lamps, bulbs, huge pandals and dansals. There were beautiful and creative lanterns. I cannot express the beauty of this with some words. There was no difference of religion, everyone enjoyed themselves peacefully there. Everyone was with devotion as a family. There were so many foreigners visiting during this season. Many of them came to see this beautiful Gangarama Vesak zone. It is a new experience to their life. I arrived in Colombo in the evening and I came back in the morning a day after. I walked everywhere during the night. There was a competition for selecting the best lantern. Such amazing creations and they were created to express the stories of Buddhism.

It showed all these things in my mind as really. This is the third year after 2019 that we have not been able to celebrate Vesak, so it is not without some regrets. Although I am very happy with these memories, it is a little sad that we have to go home and celebrate Vesak this time as well. However, despite the obstacles, I celebrated Vesak this time safely. I think even nature itself is now helping us to understand Buddhism in a very practical way.

I hope you too have celebrated Vesak beautifully. This is a real pleasure. And I also wish that next year's Vesak will be a beautiful year where we can walk freely and celebrate.