What happened to Buddhamas?
with metta
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I like this idea but why donāt we do the same in Ramadan?
Actually what struck me was -are there any festivals that were celebrated around the time of the Buddha, according to the EBTs? The reason why Iām asking is because it seems natural to have some form of celebration, if only to dispel the darkness of life at times. This would be more along the lines of it being an āornament to the mindā sense, rather than debauchery.
with metta
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Is santa satan then? I got god and dog. Buddha andā¦?
with metta
Here in California, I see the progression of the latter year holidays as something I can connect with even though I donāt consider them like the masses do.
Labor day kind of acknowledges the yearās work so far, the effort and energy put into life.
Halloween is a goofy reason to shift gears from summer to autumn and connect with people as the season changes.
Thanksgiving is a reflection of gratitude for the important people and events that have been part of the journey of the year.
Christmas is about connecting with and expressing love to those I know and the less fortunate, how we are all in this together so to speak.
New Years Even is a celebration of another year of moving forward and the dawn of a new opportunity.
As for the pagan or Christian aspects of the holidays, I just ignore all of that and make it what works well for me.
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In Thailand itās common for Buddhists to participate in Wan Trut Eed (= Eid al-Fitr), the enormous feast thatās held at the end of Ramadan. In fact Thais in general seem happy to join in with nearly any religious celebration where thereāll be a lot of eating.
The only spoilsports, as far as I know, are first-generation converts to some forms of evangelical Protestantism, especially the South Korean millenarian churches. On Wesak day a few years ago one monastery in Chiang Mai had lots of leftover food, so the abbot gave orders for it to be distributed to the cityās orphanages. It was received with gratitude everywhere except one Christian one, whose Korean pastor said he couldnāt let the children eat food that had been offered to idols.
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It seems like a great interfaith opportunity to me- especially the food brings people together- it helps to stop the brain from getting attached to oneās views when it is thinking of the food 
. In Sri Lanka Buddhist look forward to Biriyani with their Muslim friends!
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SPOILERS to anyone who may be viewing The Last Jedi!
My report back to the monastic Star Wars legions: there is nothing in the story that Rey is the reincarnation of Anakin. There are some explorations of her story that reveal that she is of no particularly noble or notable background-- which I liked. More dhammic!
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Just another day here in Burma.
At breakfast time, I offered special goodies to the foreign yogis here at the monastery - rye bread with real butter and cheese, nuts, NZ chocolate, pastries. They ate without reacting, very mindfully, but afterwards I noticed that there wasnāt a whole lot left. 
Wishing joy to one and all!
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As a side note, itās interesting to know that Jesus was not born on 25 december. A lot of stuff from today christianity comes from Mithraism, including this 25 december date that was the date of Mithra birth.
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Christmas is a pretty sad holiday when you think about it. People joyfully celebrate the birth of a baby who was destined for excruciating death by execution, by means of one of the most brutal and sadistic execution methods ever devised by a state - all while his mother looked on.
Christians look into those little crĆØches, and it looks so peaceful and joyous. But they know what is in store for the characters in the scene, and it is not pretty. Also, if they are believers, they understand that this painful atonement is only necessary due to their own fallen and sinful nature. They are the executioners.
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Along the lines of my previous comment, here is a beautiful post from the blog A Clerk of Oxford presenting some verses compiled by the Franciscan friar John of Grimestone.
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It reminds me that both Christianity and Buddhism have roots in the human response to the reality of suffering.
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Bah humbug! 