India is a country which feeds on festivals at regular intervals. Festivals are an integral part of this land of great saints. Festivals add to the vibrancy and dynamism of this land. Festivals here are celebrated with zest and fervor. There are numerous festivals as there are numerous religions. Buddhist festivals are just another addition to long list of festivals.

I have been part of virtually each and every festival celebrated in India. Whenever any festival arrives I literally go gaga. Every festival has its distinct color. manner of celebration, season to celebrate. Indian festivals have always filled me with boundless joy and I always crave for the occasions.

Speaking particularly of Buddhist festivals I can say that apart from carrying religious significance these are provide excellent socializing opportunities. These are celebrated to commemorate some significant events in the life of Lord Buddha.

The principal Buddhist festivals celebrate 'the three Jewels', the Buddha, the Dharma(the Buddhist teaching), and the sanga(the spiritual community). These are marked by gatherings in the local temple or monastery, listening to Dharma talk, food offering to the poor, chanting of Buddhist teachings and meditation. There are two aspects to be taken into consideration regarding Buddhist festivals: Most Buddhists, with the exception of the Japanese, use the Lunar Calendar and the dates of Buddhist festivals vary from country to country and between Buddhist traditions. There are many special or holy days held throughout the year by the Buddhist community. The major ones can be categorised as :

Buddhas enlightenment
Buddhas enlightenment is the central event in Buddhism, thus the celebration of it is the most important festival of the Buddhist year. It is celebrated on the full moon of May/June. In the monastery people usually offer meal to the sangha and in return get his blessings. They meet and share various aspects of life, religion, meditation etc. Also known as visakh Puja or Buddha day, it celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha on one day.

Dharma Day: the celebration of Buddhas teaching
This day people pay homage to Buddha's teachings which started at Sarnath. It usually falls on the full moon day of the 8th lunar month, approx July. It commemorates the Buddha's first teaching to the five ascetics at the deer park (Sarnath), near Benares city. On the Dharma day there are readings from the Buddhist scriptures and a chance to reflect on their contents. It is also known as Ashala puja.

Sangha Day: the celebration of spiritual community.
Also known as Magha Puja , it takes place on the full moon day of the third lunar month in March. This holy day is observed to commemorate an important event in the life of Buddha which occurred early in Buddhas teaching life. After the first Rains Retreat (Vassa) at the Deer Park at Sarnath, the Buddha went to Rajagaha city where 1250 Arahats,(Enlightened saints) who were the Buddha's disciples, had gathered after returning from their wanderings to pay respect to Buddha without prior appointment.They assembled in the Veruvana Monastery with the two chief disciples of the Buddha, Ven. Sariputta and Ven. Moggalana.

The assembly is called the Fourfold Assembly because it consisted of four factors: (1) All 1250 were Arahats; (2) All of them were ordained by the Buddha himself; (3) They assembled by themselves without any prior call; (4) It was the full moon day of Magha month (March).

Kathina ceremony; the robe offering ceremony It takes place within one month of the conclusion of vassa retreat, and usually gathering of the people offer new robes and other requisites to the monks.

Pavarana Day
This day marks the conclusion of the Rains retreat (vassa). In the following month, the kathina ceremony is held, during which the laity gather to make formal offerings of robe cloth and other requisites to the Sangha.

Anapanasati Day
At the end of one rains retreat (vassa), the Buddha was so pleased with the progress of the assembled monks that he encouraged them to extend their retreat for yet another month. On the full-moon day marking the end of that fourth month of retreat, he presented his now-famous instructions on mindfulness of breathing (anapanasati), which may be found in the Anapanasati Sutta (MN 118) - The Discourse on Mindfulness of Breathing.