Poya, the full moon that closes Sri Lanka's bars

Every month, on the day of the full moon, Sri Lanka stops. Banks and offices close, many shops pull down their shutters, and families dressed in white walk to the temple carrying flowers. In hotel restaurants, the wine list quietly disappears. The day is called Poya, and if your holiday includes one, it helps to know what is going on.

A holiday every full moon

Poya comes from the Pali word uposatha, the Buddhist day of observance, and in a country where most people are Buddhist, every full moon is a public holiday. For the devout, it is a day for the temple: offering flowers and lighting oil lamps, listening to sermons, meditating, and for some, keeping extra precepts from dawn until the next morning, dressed in white as a sign of it.

For everyone else, it means a quieter country. Offices and banks close, many shops do too, and the sale of alcohol and meat is not allowed. That rule applies to hotels as well as bars and wine shops, and it is enforced: hotels have been sealed by the excise authorities for serving drinks on a Poya day. Your tour leader will know the dates. It is simplest to treat the day as a dry one and enjoy a fresh lime soda with dinner.

The religious holidays of other faiths bring their own closures, so it is worth checking the calendar for your dates as a whole.

The great full moons

Every Poya marks something in the story of the Buddha or of Buddhism on the island, and a few of them are festivals that visitors travel for.

Duruthu, in January, recalls the Buddha's first visit to Sri Lanka, as told in the island's chronicles, and the temple at Kelaniya, just outside Colombo, celebrates it with a perahera, a night procession of dancers, drummers and elephants.

Navam, in February, is the time of the Navam Perahera at the Gangaramaya temple in Colombo, another procession of elephants, dancers and monks through the city streets at night.

Vesak, in May, is the greatest of them, marking the Buddha's birth, enlightenment and death on the same full moon. Towns and villages hang paper lanterns from every balcony, great illuminated panels called pandals tell stories from the Buddha's life, and volunteers run dansal, roadside stalls handing out free food and drink to anyone who passes.

Poson, in June, marks the arrival of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, when, according to tradition, the monk Mahinda met the king on the hill at Mihintale, near Anuradhapura. Pilgrims in their thousands climb the steps to the summit.

Esala, in July or August, is the month of the Esala Perahera in Kandy, when a casket standing for the relic in the Temple of the Tooth is carried through the streets on an elephant, over a series of nights that build up to the full moon.

May and June fall in the wet season on the west and south coasts, which is one reason few tours are there for Vesak or Poson. The January and February festivals fall in the main touring season, and Kandy in July and August suits a route through the drier cultural triangle and east.

Spending a Poya day on tour

For a visitor, a Poya day is one of the best chances to see Sri Lankan Buddhism as it is lived. Temples that are calm on an ordinary weekday are busy with families, the air smells of jasmine and incense, and the white clothes make even a small village temple look festive.

Visitors are welcome, as long as they behave as guests. Cover shoulders and knees, take off shoes and hats before entering, and keep your voice down. Never pose for a photograph with your back to a Buddha statue, and ask before photographing people at prayer. The UK government's advice is clear that disrespecting Buddhist images is treated as a serious offence in Sri Lanka.

Busy temples also mean busy roads around them, and some sites are more crowded than usual, so a good guide will adjust the day: a slower start, a visit timed for the evening lamps, perhaps a walk through the town instead of a long drive.

Explore Worldwide's Sri Lanka in Depth, fourteen nights, spends time in the island's great Buddhist sites: Anuradhapura, Mihintale, Dambulla, Polonnaruwa and Kandy's Temple of the Tooth.

Travelsphere's Highlights of Sri Lanka with Beruwala Beach Extension, fourteen nights, and Just You's Sri Lanka, Pearl of the Indian Ocean, thirteen nights for solo travellers, both include Kandy, along with Sigiriya, the hill country and Galle.