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Hi, need to submit a 1250 words paper on the topic Buddhas Birthday

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Hi, need to submit a 1250 words paper on the topic Buddhas Birthday. Because Buddhism believes in reincarnation, it is quite difficult to create a chronological, historical biography of his life, thus, Buddhist around the world focus only to the four most important events of his life: birth, enlightenment, first sermon, and death (Keown 25-27).

The birth of Buddha is celebrated differently throughout the Asian. The regional variation could be attributed to the cultural interpretation of each country. For instance, the Japanese follow the Gregorian calendar rather than the traditional Chinese Lunar Calendar thus celebrates Buddha’s birth in a different date than the rest of the Asian countries. The rituals and the duration of the celebration were also localized depending on the region or how the country interprets their religious understanding of the teachings of Buddha.

Hana-Matsuri is literally translated in English as “Flower Festival”—Hana meaning ‘flower’ and Matsuri meaning ‘festival’ but is actually is the birth celebration of Buddha. The celebration of Buddha’s birth coincides with the coming of spring and the blossoming of Sakura—The cherry blossom is the national flower of Japan. But more than just a national symbol, Sakura is a reminder of Buddha’s teaching (Ganeri 26-27).

Sakura Cherry blossoms are very beautiful but they are also very delicate and would easily wither after a few days. This is a reminder to the Japanese of Buddha’s teaching that everything changes, nothing on earth are permanent. Thus, Japanese parks are a sight to behold as Cherry trees that lined up the parks are in full bloom (Ganeri 26-27).

Cherry blossoms are also used as decoration and ornaments during the celebration. Young girls would wear it on their heads, streets are decorated with streamers with cherry blossom themes, and garlands made of cherry blossoms are weaved and offered to Buddha statues on temples (Ganeri 26-27).

Makeshift flower gardens are also set up in the temple courtyards of Vihara to recreate&nbsp.the garden to which Buddha was said to have been born. In the middle of the garden, a statue of a young Buddha is placed were visitors could pour scented tea extracted from hydrangea leaves over the image.&nbsp.