Visek Day is a Buddhist celebration honouring the birthday of Budha and celebrated world-wide. It focuses on the tenants of Buddhism including compassion, peace and goodwill. Celebrations include cultural performances, plays and public messages given by religious and community leaders. Some celebrations include doing acts of charity such as donating to the poor or releasing caged animals.
May 27th, the students of John English Public School celebrated Visek Day. The school hosted a beautiful celebration for newcomer children who dressed in cultural attire and shared a pot-luck meal. To commemorate Visek Day, a peace tree was planted by the students in the school’s inner garden. The peace tree was then decorated by the children to foster compassion and peace. This years’ tree was the 10th annual peace tree planted at the school, and each tree is dedicated to a staff person of the school to keep them close in memory. It was also in this garden that the ESL teacher’s rabbit ran freely, symbolizing freedom and compassion for animals.
