The Three Most Important holy days of the year for Thai Buddhists all include the word "Bucha", which means to pay homage. Asaraha Bucha commemorates the day the Lord Buddha preached his first sermon. Makha Bucha marks both the occasion when 1,350 of the Buddha 146’s disciples (monks) gathered without prior notice and listened to the Buddha elaborate some of his most important teachings in a sermon, as well as the day he foresaw his own death and attainment of Nibbana (Nirvana). But the most auspicious of the three is Visakha Bucha, which simultaneously commemorates three important anniversaries in the life of Siddharta Gautama, the Lord Buudha: his birth, his enlightenment, and his death.
The word Visakabucha stands for Visakapoonnameebucha which implies the worship of his Lord Buddha in the middle of the 6th lunar month. Buddhist regard this day as the Lord Buddha’s recalling Day. There occur three incidents related to his Lord Buddha’s life on Visakabucha including his birthday (80 B.C), the enlightenment day (35 B.C.), and the Nirvana day (1 B.C.).
Influenced by Sri Lanka where the King commemorated magnificent Visakabucha ceremony, the ceremony also happened in Thailand during the Sukhothai period because of religious connection between the two countries. However, no evidence of the activity was found during Thonburi and early Ratanakosin period, but in the reign of King Rama II, the ceremony was once again rearranged.
Common activities Buddhist do today fall on merit making: offering food to priest in morning time; behaving themselves according to Buddhism’s Five Percepts, etc. Some of them make a visit to temple to attend the sermon or practice the meditation while some set birds and fish free. And after sunset, the candle lit procession is usually done clockwise around each temple’s church.
On this occasion, a grand religious ceremony is also held at Phuttha Monthon in Nakhon Pathom Province where the statue of the Walking Buddha is located. Here the candle lit procession is usually led by a royal family member. Buddhists from nearby and other provinces can come to take part in the procession.
