Extremely informative.

Incientally the Hindu calender also has an extra month every 2-1/2 years
(approx.) and that is called adhik maas -- literally meaning extra month.

metta.
___________________________________

On 5/27/07, Ong Yong Peng <pali.smith@...> wrote:
>
> Dear friends,
>
> the following passage is an expansion of what I have written to a
> friend and member of the group.
>
> When is Vesak?
>
> The exact date of Vesak can be confusing. The confusion is the result
> of the many different calendars used across the world. In the past,
> astronomers studied the movement of celestial objects in the sky, and
> observed a pattern in it. The pattern, as they have recorded, slowly
> evolved into a calendar. Becuase these studies were conducted more or
> less independently, hence we have the various calendars in used today.
>
> According to the Tipitaka, Buddha was born, enlightened and obtained
> final nibbana on the full-moon day of Vesakha. Hence, we call this day
> Vesak Day. The word vesak comes from vesakha, which is derived from
> Sanskrit vaishakha, the second month on the Hindu calendar. The Hindu
> new year commences on the new-moon day of the month of Chaitra, which
> falls between March and April on the Gregorian calendar. Other names
> for Vesak Day include Wesak Day, Visakah Puja, Visakah Bucha, Buddha
> Purnima (meaning 'full-moon'), Buddha Jayanti (meaning 'victory'), and
> Buddha Day.
>
> Conventionally, we take Vesak Day as the full-moon day in the month of
> May. However, the lunar month (29/30 days) is always shorter than the
> calendar month (30/31 days, except February). Therefore, every few
> years, we will find two full-moon days in May. This year (2007), we
> have full-moon days on May 1 and 31.
>
> The World Buddhist Federation passed a resolution in 1950 that for
> such cases, the first full-moon day in May will be Vesak Day. Based on
> this, Malaysia and Sri Lanka set May 1 as Vesak Day. However, it is
> argued, as in for 2007, that, traditionally, Vesak Day is considered
> the full-moon day of the fourth lunar month on the Chinese calendar.
> And according to the Chinese calendar in 2007, May 31 is the full-moon
> day of the fourth lunar month. Based on this, Singapore set May 31 as
> Vesak Day.
>
> There are generally three types of calendar: solar, lunar and lunisolar.
>
> The solar calendar is based on the revolution of the earth around the
> sun, with no consideration of moon phases. Each revolution is one
> complete seasonal cycle. However, we also measure time in terms of
> days. And, unfortunately, the earth's complete revolution around the
> sun takes slightly over 365 days. Therefore, we have to introduce an
> extra day every four years in the month of February. The Gregorian
> calendar used internationally is a solar calendar.
>
> A lunar calendar is a 12-month calendar based on the cyclic movement
> of the moon, with no consideration of the solar cycle. The moon takes
> 29.5 days to revolve around the earth. So, there are 354 days in a
> year. A holiday celebrated based on a lunar calendar will fall 11 days
> earlier each solar year. The Islamic calendar is a lunar calendar.
>
> The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, i.e. for every two to
> three years, an extra (intercalary) month is introduced to correct for
> its deviation from the astronomical year. The Chinese calendar is
> traditionally a lunisolar calendar, it is not an influence of modern
> astronomy. As such the calculation of the intercalary month requires
> complex astronomical knowledge, and based on this complex calculation,
> the intercalary month may be placed anytime in a leap year. Hence,
> there can be two fourth lunar months with full-moon days in a leap
> year! When that happens, Vesak will be celebrated on the first of the
> two fourth lunar months.
>
> Another point to note is that by following the Chinese calendar, Vesak
> may fall outside May. For example, Vesak Day was celebrated on June 2
> in 2004.
>
> In Thailand, Vesak Day falls on the full-moon day of the sixth lunar
> month. If there are 13 full moons in a year, Vesak Day falls on the
> full-moon day of the seventh lunar month.
>
> Vesak as the "triple-occasion" of Buddha's birth, enlightenment and
> parinibbana is traditionally observed only in southern-transmission or
> Theravada countries. The northern-transmission or Mahayana countries
> traditionally celebrate the three occasions on three separate days.
> For example, the Chinese marked the eighth day of the fourth lunar
> month as the day of Buddha's birthday. Buddha's enlightenment and
> parinibbana were marked on the eigth day of the twelfth month and the
> fifteenth (full-moon) day of the fourth month respectively, in the
> Chinese calendar.
>
> metta,
> Yong Peng.
>
>
>


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