The Ullambana Festival, also known as Sangha Day or Buddha’s Joyful Day, is a celebration that takes place on the 15th day of the seventh lunar month, which is usually between August and September. It is celebrated by Mahayana Buddhists worldwide, and some Theravadas Buddhists in Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand. The festival commemorates the end of the Sangha community’s summer retreat and is a time to give thanks for their blessings and prayers. It is also a time to honor ancestors, send blessings to loved ones, and offer compassion to those who are suffering.

The festival’s story dates back to the Buddha and his disciple Maudgalyayana. Maudgalyayana meditated and discovered that his mother was suffering in hell due to her offenses. The Buddha told Maudgalyayana that he could save his mother by making an offering of vegetarian food and drinks to the Buddha and the Sangha on the 15th day of the seventh month. The Buddha explained that the Sangha’s Way-virtue would then be able to save his mother.

During the festival, Buddhists support the Sangha by offering meals to them as an act of reverence. This allows the Sangha to practice without distractions and cultivate merits for themselves and their ancestors. The 7th lunar month is also considered a time to focus on accumulating merit and practicing generosity, especially for ancestors who may be in lower realms of existence.
The Chinese transliteration of the Sanskrit word “Ullambana” is “Yulanpen”, which means filial piety, making offerings, repaying kindness, and liberation from suffering.