Silent Sunday


I know Silent Sunday is supposed to be, well, - silent.  But given that most of my readers are Westerners and the fact that I live in Asia, I just had to bend the rules a bit to clarify what was going on.  Tomorrow (Monday 28th May) is Buddha's Birthday.  For the last few weeks in Seoul, brightly colored lanterns of all shapes and sizes have begun to appear all over the city, symbolizing the light that the Buddha brought into the world. Devout Buddhists attach 'prayer requests' (the hanging tags) to these lanterns.  This shot of workmen and volunteers putting up lanterns in preparation for tomorrow's celebrations was taken at the Bonguensa Buddhist Temple in Seoul.

Comments

tomorrow is Bob's birthday too. Maybe I should put lanterns all around Santa Monica!
MsCaroline said…
Sounds like an excellent idea to me! Maybe we can change the official name of the holiday to, 'Buddha and Bob's Birthday'....
Expat mum said…
Wow - Love that. Has given me some great ideas for birthdays and Xmas.
A fascinating 'behind the scenes' look. Thank you!
BavarianSojourn said…
Beautiful! Nice to know what is happening here! Happy Birthday Buddha (and Bob!) :)
Karen said…
Nice!
I really love your photos! I can't believe you think Dubai sounds more exotic than Seoul!
MsCaroline said…
Circles - I guess it's a 'grass is always greener' thing - sand dunes and camels sound much more exotic than temples and lanterns to me!
MsCaroline said…
Wilma - thanks! It was breathtaking up close!

EM - I never thought about that! What a great idea! I'll have to buy some to keep on hand!

Linda - My pleasure - it was a really interesting visit!

Emma - Thanks! Sometimes when it's all around you, you forget that the same thing isn't happening everywhere. I don't know how Bob's birthday was, but Buddha's was fantastic!

Karen - thanks! I was really tempted to use one of Son#1's photos, since they were much better, but Silent Sunday is supposed to be one of your own photos, and this one turned out pretty well!
AliBlahBlah said…
Gorgeous. I was looking at buying three battery-lit lanterns at our local garden center last weekend. This rather puts them in perspective!!
Gorgeous orange and green, the repetition is festive but calming. I must be a little more budha like in my life (without the tummy)
MsCaroline said…
ABB- MrL and I were just saying we should stock up while we're here and recreate the scene when we get back to Texas - although perhaps not quite on the same scale.

ALW - I'm sure that's what they had in mind, but with the cast of zillions there to celebrate Buddha's birthday, it was anything but calming!

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