The Festival of Lights

The city is alive with excitement and a sense of anticipation that something big is about to happen, and it’s impossible not to get carried along with it. Today is the start of Vesak, the festival of lights, held annually on the full moon in May, celebrating the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha.

Over the past week, Colombo has been busily preparing for tonight and now the entire city is adorned with decorations. Shops, buildings, hotels and temples are draped in fairy lights. Colourful lanterns and Buddhist flags hang along the streets and in front of homes, and the aroma of burning oil lamps and incense wafts across the city. Pandals as large as billboards have been erected, decorated with thousands of multicoloured light globes surrounding images that depict stories of Buddha’s life.