When Is Vesak Day?
Vesak Day 2027 falls on Thursday, May 20.
Vesak commemorates the birth, enlightenment and passing of the Buddha, and it is the single clearest case on this site of one festival landing on two different dates. Theravada countries — Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand — and India put it on the full moon of the fourth lunar month. Hong Kong, Macau and South Korea follow the Mahayana reckoning and mark Buddha’s Birthday on the eighth day of that month, roughly a week earlier.
Also known as: Wesak · Waisak · Buddha Purnima · Visakha Bucha · Buddha’s Birthday · 佛誕
The short answer
8 countries and regions in our calendar mark it. Dates and days off below cover 2025–2028.
- 2025
- Monday, May 12
- 2026
- Sunday, May 31
- 2027
- Thursday, May 20
- 2028
- Tuesday, May 9
Dates year by year
Who gets the day off
Every row is derived from that country’s official calendar on this site, so the day counts include substitute days and government bridge days exactly as gazetted.
Vesak Day 2025
| Country / region | Called | Date | Days off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand | Visakha Bucha DayA national holiday and an alcohol-free day; a substitution day follows a weekend collision. | May 11 – 12 | 2days |
| Indonesia | Waisak DayA national holiday centred on Borobudur, sometimes extended by a cuti bersama day. | May 12 – 13 | 2days |
| Singapore | Vesak DayFull-moon reckoning; an in-lieu Monday follows a Sunday Vesak. | May 12, 2025 | 1days |
| Malaysia | Wesak DayA federal public holiday, with a replacement day for weekend collisions. | May 12, 2025 | 1days |
| India | Buddha PurnimaA gazetted central holiday on the full moon of Vaisakha. | May 12, 2025 | 1days |
| Hong Kong Same date, local festivalOn the statutory list | The Birthday of the Buddha (佛誕)Mahayana reckoning — the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, about a week before Vesak. | May 5, 2025 | 1days |
| Macau Same date, local festivalGeneral holiday only | The Buddha's BirthdaySame Mahayana date as Hong Kong. | May 5, 2025 | 1days |
| South Korea Same date, local festival | Buddha's Birthday (부처님 오신 날)Also the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, and now covered by the substitute-holiday rule. | May 5, 2025 | 1days |
Thailand
Indonesia
Singapore
Malaysia
India
Hong Kong
Macau
South KoreaVesak Day 2026
| Country / region | Called | Date | Days off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Vesak DayFull-moon reckoning; an in-lieu Monday follows a Sunday Vesak. | May 31 – Jun 1 | 2days |
| Malaysia | Wesak DayA federal public holiday, with a replacement day for weekend collisions. | May 31 – Jun 2 | 2days |
| Thailand | Visakha Bucha DayA national holiday and an alcohol-free day; a substitution day follows a weekend collision. | May 31 – Jun 1 | 2days |
| India | Buddha PurnimaA gazetted central holiday on the full moon of Vaisakha. | May 1, 2026 | 1days |
| Indonesia | Waisak DayA national holiday centred on Borobudur, sometimes extended by a cuti bersama day. | May 31, 2026 | 1days |
| South Korea Same date, local festival | Buddha's Birthday (부처님 오신 날)Also the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, and now covered by the substitute-holiday rule. | May 24 – 25 | 2days |
| Macau Same date, local festivalGeneral holiday only | The Buddha's BirthdaySame Mahayana date as Hong Kong. | May 24, 2026 | 1days |
| Hong Kong Same date, local festivalGeneral holiday only | The Birthday of the Buddha (佛誕)Mahayana reckoning — the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, about a week before Vesak. | May 25, 2026 | 1days |
Vesak Day 2027
| Country / region | Called | Date | Days off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singapore | Vesak DayFull-moon reckoning; an in-lieu Monday follows a Sunday Vesak. | May 20, 2027 | 1days |
| Malaysia Provisional | Wesak DayA federal public holiday, with a replacement day for weekend collisions. | May 20, 2027 | 1days |
| Indonesia Provisional | Waisak DayA national holiday centred on Borobudur, sometimes extended by a cuti bersama day. | May 20, 2027 | 1days |
| Thailand Provisional | Visakha Bucha DayA national holiday and an alcohol-free day; a substitution day follows a weekend collision. | May 20, 2027 | 1days |
| India | Buddha PurnimaA gazetted central holiday on the full moon of Vaisakha. | May 20, 2027 | 1days |
| Hong Kong Same date, local festivalOn the statutory list | The Birthday of the Buddha (佛誕)Mahayana reckoning — the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, about a week before Vesak. | May 13, 2027 | 1days |
| Macau Same date, local festivalProvisionalGeneral holiday only | The Buddha's BirthdaySame Mahayana date as Hong Kong. | May 13, 2027 | 1days |
| South Korea Same date, local festival | Buddha's Birthday (부처님 오신 날)Also the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, and now covered by the substitute-holiday rule. | May 13, 2027 | 1days |
Rows marked provisional show only the dates already fixed. Where a government sets the length of the break by annual decree — mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia — the full arrangement has not been published for that year yet, so treat those day counts as a floor and any blank as "not announced", not as a working day.
Vesak Day 2028
| Country / region | Called | Date | Days off |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thailand Provisional | Visakha Bucha DayA national holiday and an alcohol-free day; a substitution day follows a weekend collision. | May 8, 2028 | 1days |
| India Provisional | Buddha PurnimaA gazetted central holiday on the full moon of Vaisakha. | May 8, 2028 | 1days |
| Singapore Provisional | Vesak DayFull-moon reckoning; an in-lieu Monday follows a Sunday Vesak. | May 9, 2028 | 1days |
| Malaysia Provisional | Wesak DayA federal public holiday, with a replacement day for weekend collisions. | May 9, 2028 | 1days |
| Indonesia Provisional | Waisak DayA national holiday centred on Borobudur, sometimes extended by a cuti bersama day. | May 9, 2028 | 1days |
| Hong Kong Same date, local festivalProvisionalOn the statutory list | The Birthday of the Buddha (佛誕)Mahayana reckoning — the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, about a week before Vesak. | May 2, 2028 | 1days |
| Macau Same date, local festivalProvisionalGeneral holiday only | The Buddha's BirthdaySame Mahayana date as Hong Kong. | May 2, 2028 | 1days |
| South Korea Same date, local festivalProvisional | Buddha's Birthday (부처님 오신 날)Also the 8th day of the 4th lunar month, and now covered by the substitute-holiday rule. | May 2, 2028 | 1days |
Rows marked provisional show only the dates already fixed. Where a government sets the length of the break by annual decree — mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam, Indonesia — the full arrangement has not been published for that year yet, so treat those day counts as a floor and any blank as "not announced", not as a working day.
Full moon or eighth day: two traditions, two dates
Theravada Buddhism places all three events of the Buddha’s life on the full moon of Vesakha, so Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand — and India, as Buddha Purnima — take the fifteenth day of the lunar month. East Asian Mahayana tradition commemorates only the birth, and dates it to the eighth day of the fourth lunar month, which is why Hong Kong, Macau and Korea are consistently about a week ahead. Neither is a variant of the other; they are two separate liturgical calendars that happen to describe the same person.
What each country actually does with the day
Thailand treats Visakha Bucha as a national alcohol-free day, with temple circumambulations at dusk. Indonesia centres the national observance on Borobudur, where thousands of lanterns are released. Singapore and Malaysia keep it a straightforward public holiday with temple visits and free vegetarian meals. Hong Kong’s Buddha’s Birthday is best known for the bathing-of-the-Buddha ritual and the Cheung Chau Bun Festival that shares the date.
Where Vesak is not a holiday
Japan celebrates Hanamatsuri on 8 April in the Gregorian calendar — the same eighth-day tradition, fixed to a solar date — but it has never been a public holiday. Mainland China, Taiwan, Vietnam and the Philippines have large Buddhist populations and no statutory day off for it either.
Go deeper
Frequently asked questions
What date is Vesak Day in 2026 and 2027?+
Vesak falls on Sunday 31 May 2026 and Thursday 20 May 2027 in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand. Hong Kong, Macau and Korea observe Buddha’s Birthday about a week earlier — see the table for each gazetted date.
Why is Buddha’s Birthday in Hong Kong not on Vesak Day?+
Hong Kong follows the Mahayana tradition, which commemorates the birth alone on the eighth day of the fourth lunar month. Theravada countries mark all three life events on the full moon of the same month, a week later.
Is Vesak Day a public holiday in Thailand?+
Yes. Visakha Bucha Day is a national public holiday and also a day on which alcohol sales are banned nationwide. A substitution day is granted when it falls on a weekend.
Is Buddha Purnima the same as Vesak?+
Yes — it is the Indian name for the same full-moon observance, and India gazettes it centrally as a public holiday.
How many countries on this site treat it as a day off?+
Eight — five on the Theravada full-moon date and three on the Mahayana eighth-day date. The comparison table lists all of them with the exact dates.