Lotus Lantern Festival

On Saturday, some friends and I headed out to the Lotus Lantern Festival.  This parade is to celebrate Buddha's birthday and is the largest parade in all of Korea.  I have copied a description of all the festivities involved with the parade.

The Lotus Lantern Festival is held every year on April 8th (lunar calendar) in honor of Buddha's Birth. The festival is preceded by hanging of lotus-shaped lanterns across Seoul for several weeks, and officially kicks off with lighting of the Jangeumdang, a large lantern that symbolizes Buddhism and Buddha's Birthday, at the Seoul Plaza. The celebration continues with a wide array of Buddhist programs and activities, before ending with an impressive lantern parade in the heart of Seoul.

The festival was a lot of fun, and it was pretty unbelievable how many lanterns there were and how excited people are for this event.  I did not know when I left for the parade, but this parade is one of the most famous in the world.  I was completely surprised by the amount of tourists that came out to see the event (especially the western ones).