Next: about 20 May 2027
Vesak
The Buddhist full moon of birth, enlightenment and death, with free refreshment stalls (dansal) serving spiced drinks and rice.
Spices for Vesak
On Vesak, lanterns line the streets and dansal, free food stalls, hand out rice, kiribath, ice cream and ginger beer or herbal drinks to passers-by. Sri Lankan Buddhist food is vegetarian on this day, so dishes such as dhal curry with curry leaf, mustard seed and turmeric, and sambol with chilli and lime, are served. Spiced coriander tea (koththamalli) may be offered and the day shows how spices can be an act of generosity.
The spices
Also part of it, and being written: Curry tree (Curry leaves flavour the vegetarian curries.).
Written by the EveryMasala desk with AI assistance. Background: "Vesak" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Turmeric: J.M.Garg, CC BY 3.0, source
- Coriander: Thamizhpparithi Maari, CC BY-SA 3.0, source