(NOTE: New venue this year – see below!)

The Lunar New Year, held in April, is an ancient annual festival for Thai, Burmese, Sri Lankan, Laotian, Cambodian, Nepalese, and Indian people. Every year, various cultural and religious celebrations are held to mark the New Year. For all Buddhists, this is also the time to make merits in dedication to the departed relatives and to ask for forgiveness and blessings from parents, grandparents, and elders. Each culture has its own name for the event, for example: Songkran for the Thai, Thingyan for Burmese and Aluth Avurudu for Sinhalese.

To celebrate the occasion this year, the Oxford Buddha Vihara will be holding a merit-making and blessing ceremony for the Buddhist community at Kingston Bagpuise with Southmoor Village Hall. 

We would like to take this opportunity to invite you, together with your family and friends, to join us in starting off the New Year with merits and blessings. You may contribute food for the monks, which will be shared among the devotees. There will also be opportunities to purchase food, with proceeds donated to the Vihara.

Venue:         Kingston Bagpuise with Southmoor Village Hall, Draycott Road, Southmoor, OX13 5BY.

Time:             10:00 AM – 2:45 PM

Date:              Sunday, 12^th April 2026

Programme   

10:00   Arrival at the Village Hall

10:30   Chanting 30 Parami together

11:00   Monks going on alms-round (Pindapata)

11:15    Offering lunch

11:30   Lay people taking their lunch

12:30   Starting of afternoon session:

• Observing the Five Precepts
• Listening to Dhamma talks
• Offering robes and other requisites to the Sangha
• Bathing Rites for the Buddha statue, the Monks and the Elders
• Receiving New Year Blessings
• Sharing of merits with departed relatives and all beings

14:45   End of the Programme

We look forward to welcoming you to this joyous occasion.

With warm regards,

OBV Sangha