Liquor and meat ban, casinos closed for Vesak

AFP:  Yesterday, Sri Lanka banned the sale of meat and liquor, and ordered casinos to close on the Buddha’s birthday in a move to appease the island’s religious majority. 

The restrictions, which come just days after the Government shifted May Day celebrations in a sop to Buddhist monks, will extend to tourist hotels for the two-day Vesak festival starting Sunday. 

“Meat and liquor sales at supermarkets and hotels will be banned during this period,” the Government said in a statement. 

Casinos will be closed, and gambling elsewhere also prohibited, the Government said. 

Bars are usually closed on Buddhist holidays, but the decision to ban meat sales at supermarkets is a first and was broadly seen as a gesture to the island’s powerful clergy. 

It follows the Government’s surprise decision this month to delay May Day festivities by a week after Buddhist leaders complained the date clashed with Vesak celebrations. 

It is the first time the holiday has been shifted from May 1 since Sri Lanka began celebrating the Labour Day festivities in 1956. 

Sri Lanka, a Buddhist-majority nation of 21 million, celebrates 26 public holidays. The island’s 1.5 million civil servants also enjoy another 45 days paid leave ever year.