Lunar New Year celebrated at Louisville’s Buddha Blessed Temple
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - Lunar New Year arrived on Saturday, marking the beginning of the lunar calendar and the start of the Year of the Rat 2020. This weekend, one of Louisville’s Vietnamese Buddhist temples held celebrations all weekend long to bring in the Lunar New Year.
Buddha Blessed Temple, located on 7748 Third Street Road, held their first annual Lunar New Year’s Celebration with the Asian communities of Louisville starting on Friday night with Lunar New Year’s Eve, followed by a Lunar New Years Day event on Saturday afternoon.
The formal Lunar New Year Celebration was held Sunday morning, with activities including lion and dragon dancing, flower displays, and meditation.
Reverend Thich Hang Dat, Buddhist monk and founder of the Buddha Blessed Temple, said that the celebration is held to focus on the forgiving the past and starting new in the new year.
“That’s why we celebrate this special day,” Hang Dat said. “This signifies how we need let go of the past and live with the present, and, of course, be one with the future.”
Buddha Blessed Temple opened back in September, and has been listed as the largest Buddhist center in the Midwest with an over 14,000 square foot temple.
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