Poya

It's Monday, but most of the stores in Colombo are closed or will close early. Why? Today is Poya, specifically Bak Poya, a public holiday. And, everybody knows why every full moon is a holiday. How very fun to be in a country that derives holidays from Buddhism.

They also observe other holidays, including some from other religions. Looking at their official calendar, they do seem to have a lot of holidays. Well, there's nothing wrong with that!

Hmmm. It looks like Vesak Poya is next and, since there are two full moons in one month this year, there is an extra Poya day. So, April 28 is Adi Vesak Poya (extra Vesak Poya) and May 27 is Vesak Poya (regular Vesak Poya). Well, I may just have to stick around for at least one of those! :)