Buddha’s Birthday

佛诞日
Buddha’s Birthday，the birthday of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama traditionally celebrated in East Asia on the eighth day of the fourth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, is an official holiday in Hong Kong, Macao, and South Korea. The date varies from year to year in the Western calendar.
佛诞日是乔达摩悉达多王子的生日，东亚传统上是在中国农历4月初八庆祝。佛诞日是香港、澳门和韩国的法定假日。西历上,每年佛诞日的日子都不一样。
The birth of the Buddha is often celebrated by Buddhists in India for an entire month in the Buddhist calendar. The actual day is called Buddha Poomima, also traditionally known as Vaishakh Poomima. The day marks not only the birth of Shaky amuni Gautam Buddha, but also the day of Enlightenment, and Mahaparinirvana. But as a gentle effect of West, the event of Birth is given paramount importance.
印度的佛教徒通常按佛历庆祝佛诞日，为期整整一个月。佛诞的那天叫Buddha Poomima,习惯上也叫Vaishakh Poomima。那天不仅是释迦牟尼佛的生日，而且还是点化和大般涅的日子。但是，受到西方的一些影响，佛诞日成为最重要的纪念活动。
The event is celebrated by gentle and serene fervor, keeping in mind the very nature of Buddhism. People, especially women, go to common Viharas to observe a rather longer-than-usxial, full-length Buddhist sutra, as something like a service. The usual dress is pure white. Non-vegetarian food is normally avoided.
佛教徒在心里用温和又文雅的感情庆祝佛诞日。人们，尤其是妇女，到普通的Vihams诵读比平时长的佛经全文作为服务。他们所穿的衣服通常是纯白色的，一般只吃素食。
Kheer, sweet rice porridge is commonly served to recall the story of Sujata, a maiden who in Gautama Buddha’s life, offered the Buddha a bowl of milk porridge after he had given up the path of asceticism following six years of extreme austerity. This event was one major link in his enlightenment
Kheer是一种甜粥，通常用来怀念苏娅达。她是在释迦牟尼修行时给佛祖提供了一碗奶粥的未婚少女。释迦牟尼当时放弃了6年的禁欲苦行。这个事件是他修成正果的一个重要环节。
It is said that the Buddha originally followed the way of asceticism to attain enlightenment sooner, as was thought by many at that time. He sat for a prolonged time with inadequate food and water, which caused his body to shrivel so as to be indistinguishable from the bark of the tree that he was sitting under. Seeing the weak Siddhartha Gautama, a girl named Sujata placed a bowl of milk in front of him as an offering. Realizing that without food one can do nothing, the Buddha refrained from harming his own body.
据说佛祖原来和当时许多人一样,遵循了禁欲的方式以求得正果。他长期静坐，水和食物的供应严重不足，这导致他的身体虚弱萎缩到和他所坐的树的树皮看起来没有什么区别。一位名叫苏娅达的少女看到虚弱的乔达摩悉达多,在他面前放了碗奶作为施舍。意识到没有食物什么也做不了，佛祖放弃了危害自己身体的行为。
In Japan, Buddha’s Birthday is also celebrated according to the Buddhist calendar but is not a national holiday. On this day, all temples do celebratory events/festivals called Kanbutsu-e, Goutan-e, Busshou-e, Yokubutsu-e, Ryuge-e, Hana-eshiki or Hana-matsuri (meaning “Flower Festival**). The first event was held at Asuka-dera in 606. Japanese people pour ama-cha (a beverage prepared from a variety of hydrangea) on small Buddha statues decorated with flowers, as if bathing a newborn baby.
在日本，佛诞日也是按佛历庆祝，但不是一个全国性的节日。在 这一天，所有的寺庙会举行灌会、降诞会、生会、浴会、龙华会、花会式或花祭(意思是“花节”)。第一次佛诞日于公元606年在飞鸟寺举行。日本人将海士茶(一种用各种绣球花冲的饮料)倒在用鲜花装饰的小佛像上，犹如在给新生婴儿洗澡。
In Korea the birthday of Buddha is celebrated according to the Lu-nisolar calendar. This day is called Seokga tansinil, meaning “the day of Buddha’s birthday” or Bucheonim osin nal meaning “the day when Buddha arrived，' Lotus lanterns cover the entire temple throughout the month which is often flooded down the street. On the day of Buddha’s birth, many temples provide free meals and tea to all visitors. The breakfast and lunch provided are often sanchae bibimbap.
韩国按阴阳历庆祝佛诞日。这一天被称为tansini(意思是“佛的生日”)或Bucheonim osin nal (意思是“佛祖降临的日子”)。那一整个月街上的寺庙全部装饰莲花灯。在佛诞日那天,不少庙宇为所有游客提供免费的饭菜和茶水。早餐和午餐提供的通常是松茸拌饭。
This is one of the major festivals in Sri Lanka. It is celebrated on the first full moon day of the month of May. People engage in religious observances and decorate houses and streets with candles and specially made lanterns.
佛诞日是斯里兰卡的主要节日之一,于每年5月的第一个满月庆祝。人们举办宗教庆祝活动,用蜡烛和特制的灯笼装饰房屋和街道。
Some places have a public holiday one week later, on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, to coincide with the full moon. For instance, Visakha Puja in Thailand or LePhatan in Vietnam was such a holiday on May 12 in 2006. Other countries including Singapore and Malaysia also celebrate Vesak Day on the fifteenth day of the fourth month in the Chinese Lunar Calendar, a public holiday in these two countries.
有些地方在佛诞日后的一周（即农历4月15日）过公共假期，以配合满月。例如，2006年5月12日泰国的Visafcha Puja和越南的LePhatan。其他如新加坡和马来西亚等国家也在农历4月15日庆祝公共节日卫塞节（即佛诞日)。