2012 Wesak Day procession in Melaka
Wesak is the thrice blessed day to commemorate the birth, enlightenment (nirvana) and death (parinirvana) of the Buddha. On every Wesak Day in Melaka float parade is held; and a larger scale one is held on every decade of the celebration.
This year 2012, Wesak Day was celebrated on last Saturday, 5th of May and it also marked the 50th year Wesak procession in Melaka, one of the grand celebration. Procession which is normally held on the eve on Wesak Day however was carried out on Wesak’s night this year.
Thousands of devotees thronged Melaka town and some from outstation just came by and joined the celebration. More than sixty Buddhist Temples and organisations took part this year’s procession which covered 7.7 km, from the former site of Eye on Malaysia passing through Jalan Merdeka and Bukit Cina, to Kubu Stadium in Jalan Kubu.
Kenn-Wai, Fred Yap and I didn’t miss such a grand celebration. We gathered at the main entrance of Dataran Pahlawan shopping mall which was also the judging stop and enjoyed the colouful and brightly lit floats, performance by dragon and lion dance troupes, rhythm from several school bands, Chinese and Sri Lankan dances.
There were tens of photographers gathered there to capture their best shots in order to take part in the Wesak photography competition. So we had to get a little room to see and photograph the procession.
The last float was from Seck Kia Eenh Buddhist Temple as usual. And it passed through the judging stop just before midnight and it was only half the journey to Kubu Stadium. We wondered what time the procession concluded. It would be very late we guessed.
We enjoyed ourselves on that night. Although the Wesak procession is held here in Melaka every year, we would have to wait for another ten years to see such a grand one again.
Thanks to all the organizers, volunteers, community members, students and supporters for the hard work in helping to make this procession such a success.
Sharing some shots taken. May all beings bEE happy.
