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Holiday guide
Global holiday guide rooted in South Korea's calendar, observed nationwide.
Next occurrence
May 24, 2026
Sunday · Asia/Seoul
Next occurrence
May 24, 2026
Sunday
Observed in
2 countries
Current holiday dataset
Primary context
South Korea
Public
Planning timezone
Asia/Seoul
UTC+09:00
Next: May 24, 2026 (Sunday)
Buddha's Birthday is one of the clearest examples of a religious holiday whose public importance depends on regional tradition and state recognition. In the current dataset this holiday appears in 2 country calendars, with the strongest concentration in Asia (2).
The observance comes from Buddhist ritual calendars and often centers on temple visits, lantern displays, prayer, and acts of merit or reflection.
Its public visibility varies by country, but where it is a holiday it stands out as a major spiritual date with a recognizably different tone from civic commemorations.
Buddha's Birthday is marked as a nationwide observance in the current South Korea holiday data.
Buddha's Birthday follows a lunar or lunisolar calendar tradition, so the Gregorian date changes from year to year. In the tracked data window, the dates land on 2025: May 5, 2026: May 24, 2027: May 13.
Because Buddha's Birthday follows a lunar or lunisolar calendar, the Gregorian date moves significantly each year and statutory recognition often spans several days, so reading the official block is more useful than the headline date.
The current static build keeps the tracked 2025-2027 date window online for curated holiday detail pages.
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | May 5, 2025 | Monday |
| 2026 | May 24, 2026 | Sunday |
| 2027 | May 13, 2027 | Thursday |
Buddha's Birthday comes out of Buddhist ritual practice, with temple visits, lantern displays, and merit-making rather than parade-style public ceremony, and the date follows a lunisolar calendar that drifts year to year.
Searches for Buddha's Birthday typically want the temple-event date, statutory recognition in South Korea, and whether offices and schools are closed.
Cultural family
Buddhist lunisolar feast
Origin region: East Asia
Statutory mode
Buddha's Birthday is listed as a public holiday in South Korea (nationwide), which usually means government offices, banks, and most schools close.
As a Buddhist lunisolar feast sitting in the South Korea calendar, Buddha's Birthday matters for planning because office, bank, and school closures stack on the same day. The next tracked occurrence is May 24, 2026 (Sunday), which controls long-weekend math for that year.
Buddha's Birthday also appears in other country calendars such as Hong Kong and South Korea. Recorded next dates include Hong Kong on May 25, 2026 and South Korea on May 24, 2026 — slight differences across borders are common because each country can apply weekend-substitution or regional-only rules to the same nominal holiday.
South Korea plans this holiday primarily around Asia/Seoul. Because Buddha's Birthday follows a lunar or lunisolar calendar, the Gregorian date moves significantly each year and statutory recognition often spans several days, so reading the official block is more useful than the headline date. Teams often line Buddha's Birthday up with Chuseok, Lunar New Year, and New Year's Day when blocking off the broader holiday window.
Buddha's Birthday appears in 2 country calendars in the current dataset.
Asia
2 countries
Buddha's Birthday reads differently across the 2 listed jurisdictions: a Buddhist lunisolar feast can carry one statutory weight in South Korea and another in neighboring countries that copied the date but kept different observance rules.
| Country | Next date | Type |
|---|---|---|
| Hong Kong | May 25, 2026 | Public |
| South Korea | May 24, 2026 | Public |
Buddha's Birthday falls on May 24, 2026 (Sunday) in 2026.
Buddha's Birthday follows a lunar or lunisolar calendar tradition, so the Gregorian date changes from year to year. In the tracked data window, the dates land on 2025: May 5, 2026: May 24, 2027: May 13. Because Buddha's Birthday follows a lunar or lunisolar calendar, the Gregorian date moves significantly each year and statutory recognition often spans several days, so reading the official block is more useful than the headline date.
Buddha's Birthday is listed as a public holiday in South Korea (nationwide), which usually means government offices, banks, and most schools close. It reads as a Buddhist lunisolar feast with origins tied to East Asia.
Buddha's Birthday appears in 2 country calendars in the current dataset, including Hong Kong, South Korea.
South Korea uses Asia/Seoul (UTC+09:00) for local planning.
Buddha's Birthday is often compared with Chuseok, Lunar New Year, New Year's Day on the South Korea calendar.
