Devotees celebrate Vesak Day with physical rituals again

Visitors abide by measures imposed at temple grounds and celebration venues

- Dominic Low

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, visitors to Tibetan Buddhist temple Thekchen Choling near Kallang would use a shared water bucket and ladle to bathe a Buddha statue, as part of Vesak Day rituals.

But this year, they were each given a bottle of water to do so.

This change in how the ritual is conducted was among several differences between Vesak Day celebrations in Singapore yesterday and previous festivities prior to the pandemic.

Yesterday's celebration was the first time in three years that Buddhists here were able to gather at temples and other venues to commemorate Buddha's birth, enlightenment and attainment of nirvana.

Buddhist temples and organisations were mostly limited to online festivities last year and in 2020, due to the pandemic.

But they can resume physical rituals for devotees - such as chanting, the bathing of the Buddha