A large-scale lotus lantern festival will be held in central Seoul next month to celebrate Buddha's Birthday.

The Jogye Order of Korean Buddhism and other Buddhist orders announced on Wednesday that a lantern march will proceed from Seoul's Heunginjimun, or Dongdaemun, to Jogye Temple via Jonggak Station intersection starting at 7 p.m. on May 20.

The event will be comparable in size to iterations before the COVID-19 pandemic with the lifting of quarantine rules this year as some 50-thousand are expected to attend.

A smaller lantern procession starting from Jogye Temple at 9 p.m. on May 21 will move toward the nearby Insa-dong area.

Celebrations for Buddha's Birthday, which falls on May 27 this year, will be held at various locations in Seoul during the month. Between May 11 and 28, Gwanghwamun Square, Jogye Temple and Bongeun Temple will host traditional lantern exhibits.

On Buddha's Birthday, religious services will be held at temples around the country to celebrate the occasion.