Every April’s 8 there is Hana Matsuri – (Jap. 花祭 Khan Matsuri) is a Japanese unofficial holiday dedicated to the birthday of the Buddha.
Hana-Matsuri refers to the memorial service performed at temples throughout Japan to celebrate the birth of Buddha on April 8th. It is formally called Kanbutsue. On this day, small buildings decorated with flowers are made at temples and a tanjobustu (baby Buddha figurine) is placed inside. This figurine is sprinkled by worshippers using a ladle with ama-cha, which is a beverage made by soaking tea leaves in hot water. Some people take this ama-cha home and drink it as holy water. The event is characterized by the tribute to the child Buddha with the offering of flowers and sweet tea.
People offer tea to the Buddha, bathing his image – still a child -with small portions of tea naturally sweet (we do not put sugar). The image of the Buddha lies inside an altar adorned with many colorful flowers which are called “Hanamido”. The altar represents the garden in which Buddha was born and tea represents the nectar rain that fell at the moment of his birth. According to popular belief, the people who honor him can have their requests met.
According to his biography, at the time of his birth, a heavenly song echoed through the four corners of the universe and all the beings that inhabited the world felt a great bliss. The flowers bloomed, showing all their color, and a soft nectar rain fell from the sky.
There are several denominations for the Buddha: Xaquiamuni, Oshakasama, Shakuson which mean “venerable person of Shakafamily”.
The Buddha’s birth occurred about 2630 years ago in northeastern India and when a child was called Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha was the son of King Sudhodana and the Queen Maya.
His birth is preceded by a very interesting phenomenon. One night Queen Maya had a strange dream. A white elephant had appeared and entered his body through his right armpit. Many interpreted the dream as a good omen because they understood that soon the queen would conceive a son. Thus, Buddhists around the world are keen to include in the Buddha’s birth celebrations the image of a white elephant, since it is the messenger of his birth.
Each believer spends a moment at the feet of these statuettes and water the little Buddha with a sweetened tea called amacha – obtained with crushed Japanese hydrangea leaves. Some people even bring back some amacha home, to drink of this so-called holy water.
Throughout Hana Matsuri, processions go down the decorated streets while men carry flowered structures representing Buddha. Like all Spring Festivals, this holiday also is an opportunity to pray so as to keep demons away and to grow good crops.
Kamila Chuzhenova
