08/01/2025                                                                            
                                    
                                                                            
                                            World Buddhist Flag Day is celebrated on January 8th each year. The Buddhist flag symbolizes the unity of Buddhists and is used in Buddhist festivals around the world. 
The Buddhist flag is a modern creation and it was jointly designed by Mr. J. R. de Silva and Colonel Henry Steele Olcott (American journalist) to mark the revival of Buddhism in Ceylon (presently Sri Lanka) in 1880. They designed a flag from the six colors of the aura that shone around the body and head of the Buddha after His Enlightenment. The Buddhist flag and American flag were draped on Colonel's dead body in 1907 before his cremation.
The flag later came to symbolize the unity of Buddhists.
Thereafter, it has been used worldwide and has been used in nearly 60 countries during Buddhist festive seasons, particularly during the Vesak celebrations.
The Buddhist Flag was first hoisted in 1885 in Sri Lanka.
It was accepted as the International Buddhist Flag by the 1952 World Buddhist Congress.
There are five vertical stripes of red, yellow, blue, white and orange.
The sixth color is a compound of the first five, but for design purposes its five ingredients are all shown in small horizontal stripes on the flag.
The horizontal bars signify peace and harmony between all races throughout the world. The vertical bars represent eternal peace within the world. In simple terms, the Buddhist Flag implies that there is no discrimination of races, nationality, areas or skin color, that every living being possess the Buddha Nature.
The colors symbolize the Dharma.
โ๏ธ ๐ต The Blue light that radiated from the Buddha's hair symbolizes the spirit of Universal Compassion for all beings.
โ๏ธ ๐ก The Yellow light that radiated from the Buddhas epidermis symbolizes the Middle Path which avoids all extremes and brings balance and liberation.
 โ๏ธ๐ด The Red light that radiated from the Buddha's flesh symbolizes the blessings that the practice of the Buddha's Teaching brings. It signifies achievement, wisdom, virtue, fortune and dignity.
 โ๏ธ โช๏ธ The White light that radiated from the Buddha's bones and teeth symbolizes the purity of the Buddha's Teaching and the liberation it brings
โ๏ธ ๐  The Orange light that radiated from the Buddha's palms, heels and lips symbolizes the unshakable Wisdom of the Buddha's Teaching