{{Short description|Sri Lankan holiday}} {{other uses}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2019}} {{Buddhism}} '''Poya''' is the name given to the Lunar monthly Buddhist holiday of Uposatha in Sri Lanka, where it is a civil and bank holiday. When earth makes Full Orbit of moon is normally considered as the poya day in Sri Lanka every month.
==Poya== A Poya occurs every full moon.<ref name=r2>[http://www.pubad.gov.lk/Holidays/holidays.htm "Sri Lanka Bank Holidays, Public Holidays & Full Moon Poya Days"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110301084520/http://www.pubad.gov.lk/Holidays/holidays.htm |date=2011-03-01 }} (Online Calendar for years 2003–2011), Ministry of Public Administration and home Affairs, Independence Square, Colombo 7, Sri Lanka.</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Sri Lank Desk Calendar - 2013, Buddhist Era 2556-2557|url=http://www.documents.gov.lk/Calendar/Calendar2013/2013(E)Sgn.pdf|publisher=Department of Government Printing|accessdate=16 September 2013|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130730091850/http://documents.gov.lk/Calendar/Calendar2013/2013(E)Sgn.pdf|archivedate=30 July 2013}}</ref> Uposatha is important to Buddhists all around the world, who have adopted the lunar calendar for their religious observances. Owing to the moon's fullness of size as well as its effulgence, the full moon day is treated as the most auspicious of the four lunar phases occurring once every lunar month (29.5 days) and thus marked by a holiday.<ref name=r1>A.G.S. Kariyawasam, [http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/kariyawasam/wheel402.html "Buddhist Ceremonies and Rituals of Sri Lanka"] (Ch. 3), The Wheel Publication No. 402/404 (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1995). Access to Insight, 1 March 2011</ref>
Every full moon day is known as a ''Poya'' in the Sinhala language; this is when a practicing Sri Lankan Buddhist visits a temple for religious observances.<ref name=r1/> There are 13 or 14 ''Poyas'' per year.<ref name=r3>For a standard listing of the 13, see [http://www.mysrilanka.com/travel/lanka/festivals/POSON.HTM The Significance of Poya].</ref><ref>For an example of the less common 14 full moon days in one year, see [http://www.pubad.gov.lk/Holidays/Public&BankHolidays2009.pdf the 2009 calendar] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110124221012/http://www.pubad.gov.lk/Holidays/Public%26BankHolidays2009.pdf |date=2011-01-24 }} of "Sri Lanka Bank Holidays, Public Holidays & Full Moon Poya Days"</ref> The term ''poya'' is derived from the Pali and Sanskrit word ''uposatha'' (from ''upa'' + ''vas'' "to fast"), primarily signifying "fast day".<ref name=r1/> Generally shops and businesses are closed on Poya days, and the sale of alcohol and meat is forbidden.
The Poya Day in each month generally falls on the Gregorian date of the full moon but occasionally it falls a day on either side. The designated Poya Day is based on the phase of the moon at the Madhyahana time of day (the variant of Madhyahana which only covers two ghatikas).{{Citation needed|reason=Unable to find source explaining Madyahana|date=March 2017}}
{| class="wikitable" align="center" |- ! Month ! Poya Name<ref name=r2/><ref name=r3/> ! Full Moon Poya days of 2023<ref>{{Cite web |title=Sri Lanka Public Holidays 2023 |url=https://publicholidays.lk/2023-dates/ |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=PublicHolidays.lk |language=en-US}}</ref> |- | January | Duruthu Poya | 6th |- | February | Navam Poya | 5th |- | March | Medin Poya | 6th |- | April | Bak Poya | 6th |- | May | Vesak Poya | 5th |- | June | Poson Poya | 3rd |- |July |Adhi Esala Poya |3rd |- | August | Esala Poya | 1st |- | August | Nikini Poya | 30th |- | September | Binara Poya | 29th |- | October | Vap Poya | 28th |- | November | Ill Poya | 26th |- | December | Unduvap Poya | 26th |}
If a month has two Poya days, the name of the second one will be preceded by "Adhi" ("extra" in Sinhala) as in "Adhi Vesak", "Adhi Poson", etc.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-05-16 |title=A is for Adhi Vesak |url=https://groundviews.org/2010/05/16/a-is-for-adhi-vesak/ |access-date=2023-02-03 |website=Groundviews |language=en-US}}</ref>
== See also == *List of Buddhist festivals *Mid-Autumn Festival, similar Chinese/Vietnamese Buddhist festival occurring on the day of the eighth lunar month full moon. *Tshechu, similar concept in Bhutan however revolves around the tenth day of a lunar month.
== Notes == {{Reflist}}
Category:Buddhist holidays Category:Observances held on the full moon Category:Lunar observation Category:January observances Category:February observances Category:March observances Category:April observances Category:May observances Category:September observances Category:October observances Category:November observances Category:December observances Category:Observances on non-Gregorian calendars Category:Public holidays in Sri Lanka