Given that we passed the vernal equinox on March 20, it is finally officially springtime.
Many religions have their springtime rituals, the best known being Passover and Easter. Pagans in antiquity were particularly interested in the equinox because they believed it was then that the imprisoned bride of Hades, Persephone, was freed from the land of the dead and rejoined her mother Demeter to bring spring to the world. The ancient Egyptians held this date to be a festival for the fertility god Min, and people would gather outside to eat springtime foods, such as lettuce, spring onions, chickpeas, boiled eggs and salted fish from the Nile. The children would paint ostrich eggs.
Less well known and appreciated are the eastern religious observances for the equinox.
For Japanese Buddhists, equinox is sacred because, with the day and the night for one day equal in length, the whole universe is in harmony. As such it is deemed to be when the lands of the living and of the dead are closest to each other. The three days before and the three days afterward are called Ohigan, which means “the other shore.” Activities in this season often include visiting family graves and cleaning them up, as well as food offerings such as sweet red cakes. Special reverence is shown to the graves of dead ancestors. One might celebrate by reciting the scriptures and reflecting that the Buddhist teachings can help one reach nirvana. By coincidence, a beautiful red flower comes to bloom at this time in the spring, appropriately called the Ohigan flower. These often grow around graveyards but one never takes them back to the home, for a number of reasons, not the least of which is because its roots are poisonous.
Later in the spring is the Songkran festival, which is honored by Buddhists in Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar and Sri Lanka as the traditional New Year’s Day. This falls around April 14 each year. This is a kind of day for ritual purity for the year, and clean water is poured over statues of the Buddha. Enormous water fights are celebrated in the streets and arenas, and traffic is shut down to make room for these. One is to work as little as possible on this day and if possible to spend no money. It is very bad karma to tell lies on this day, so those filing with the Internal Revenue Service about this time should take note.
Songkran is also a time of revelry. A considerable amount of alcohol is consumed in Songkran, which has caused various governments to try to regulate matters. Thailand has one of the highest rates of vehicular accidents in the world, but in Songkran the accidents and fatalities double. In 2026, there were 3,724 automotive accidents in Songkran, almost the same number as the Falkland Islands gets in one year.
The mornings in Songkran are often spent by the faithful visiting temples, and making food offerings to the monks there or reverently placed before statues of the Buddha. The monasteries depend on these free will food offerings. Prayers or passages from the scriptures are also read aloud by the devout. Families often perform ritual washings of the statues of the Buddha. The purpose of all these offerings is for the believer to gain merit, which they believe will help wash away their sins. It is a matter of great theological debate if these acts of merit can be transferred to a member of the family, such as a dead grandparent, or if they are efficacious only for the individual.
In many parts of the Buddhist world, there are the doctrines of the Paramita, which are six principles to reflect on, to help the sincere believer remain on the path to nirvana. These are 1) ”fuse,” giving one’s self in service to others without expecting anything in return; 2) “Jikai,” respecting and following the teachings of the Buddha; 3) “nin-niku,” being strong in the face of suffering; 4) “Syojin,” being mindful and deliberate in achieving goals; 5) “Zenjo,” representing the importance meditation; and 6) “Chie,” contemplating the teachings of the Buddha and the efforts to put them into practice.
All these principles are regarded as a good focus for reflection, particularly on the two equinox. Perhaps they would even make the Buddha smile.
