Sri Lankans living in St. John's gathered at Memorial University Sunday to celebrate several big events in the Buddhist calendar. 

The celebration — the first of its kind in the province — included music, meditation and food. It honoured June's full moon, which is the day organizer Sisira De Silva says Buddhism first arrived in Sri Lanka.

De Silva, the president of the Sri Lankan Buddhist and Well-Wishers Community of Newfoundland and Labrador, said it's a newly-formed organization to celebrate Sri Lankan culture here in the province.

While the group also had a Buddhist monk in Halifax lead a special ceremony via Skype, De Silva said the event was for Sri Lankans of all faiths — Muslim, Hindu and Christian. 

Roughly 80 Sri Lankans live in St. John's, most of whom are students at Memorial University. 

De Silva said the community is too small to have a temple or space of their own, so they're taking their celebrations to other spaces like the university centre.

(CBC News)