I learned something today.
The whole reason Vesak Poya Day is the big deal in terms of Poya Days is because it’s believed that Buddha – and to pronounce it properly, each letter should be pronounced, and that includes both ds – was born, received his enlightenment, and died during Vesak Poya. Considering that most of the country is Buddhist, and this becomes a very big deal.
One thing I noticed – and rather late in the day at that – is that our neighbors have lanterns hanging outside. Many of our neighbors, in fact.
One neighbor had the blinking lights that we commonly refer to as Christmas lights. Sure, hey, and why not?
Later, while watching the news, I learn that this is a major part of the festival. Some people make their own, others buy them. Some are very large, others are small, and there’s everything in between.
And over 1000 prisoners were pardoned by Presidential order in honor of Vesak Poya Day – most of them were short term prisoners.
And most of the laundry finally dries. By late afternoon. The rest? Leave it hanging until it’s finally done.
Welcome to monsoon season.
Oh yeah. And it rained pretty much the whole day. Yup. The entire blinkin’ day.
