Celebrating Buddha's Birthday: Lotus Lantern Festival

As usual, I'm behind, but better late than never, right? That just means I've been so busy that I haven't had time to update. When I say busy, I mean with school and outside activities that have been loads of fun! I have lots of updates to give you about the last few weeks, and I'm going to try and keep them short and sweet. So, here I go!

Every year, the weekend before Buddha's birthday, Seoul hosts the Lotus Lantern Festival and Buddhist Street Festival. I can tell you now that this event will be one of the most vivid memories of my year here for a number of reasons. The experience itself was fun, I got a better understanding of the Korean culture and traditions, took part in one of the biggest celebrations of the year, and the highlight for sure was the evening parade, lasting over two and a half hours with thousands of people and intricately made lanterns, floats, and clothing! Britney, Shauna, and I headed into Seoul by noon on Sunday (May 16th) and unfortunately missed some of the really neat activities that we thought lasted all day. There was an entire street lined on both sides with white tents containing lots of crafts to make, traditional temple food, and many street performances and music. We did manage to grab a few Korean snacks, paint our own Buddha magnet, and see one performance of the traditional Korean drum/dancers that I absolutely love. I experienced them for my first time in Jeonju with my Uncle Bob and Aunt Shina when they took me to an evening performance that was absolutely incredible!

As I said though, the highlight of the event was the evenings parade. I can guarantee it was the longest and most beautiful parade I will EVER see in my lifetime. It went form 7:30pm to nearly 10:00pm. It was a truly breathtaking experience to see over 100,000 individual lanterns carried by the participants who filled the street from side to side with out end. The colors of the lanterns, floats, and hanboks (traditional Korean clothing) were vibrant and absolutely extravagant! My co-worker Elena who has a great camera and a skill for photography, allowed me use all of her pictures to share with my family and friends on Facebook. She captured incredible shots from the parade! If you haven't seen this album yet (Lotus Lantern Festival), please check it out so you can see what I'm talking about. If you are don't have access to these pictures, I will be eager to show you as soon as I get home so you can see the beauty I experienced that evening! Unfortunately, of the hundred photos I have from that day, I will only be able to share of a few on my blog, so I will try to pick the ones that depict it best. I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed the entire day!