Buddha Purnima

The full moon in the lunar month of
Baisakh (April–May). Buddhists
throughout the world celebrate this full
moon as the anniversary of the Buddha’s
birth, enlightenment, and death.
Although many Hindus respect the
Buddha as a sage and religious teacher,
he is not central to Hindu religion.
Therefore, this is not a major festival,
although this particular full moon is still
named for him. More recently, the day of
this full moon has been described as the
best day of the year for bathing (snana)
in sacred rivers, a practice that the
Buddha would certainly have
denounced. Given the auspiciousness
connected with every full moon, this
may be an effort to “take back” the day
as a Hindu holiday by emphasizing a
distinctively Hindu practice.