Welcome to our Buddhist Family Holidays project! Most of our sangha live in parts of the world that are primarily non-Buddhist. This presents a challenge, but also an opportunity, to celebrate our practice amidst other religious and cultural traditions. We have three goals with this project: 

• To learn and observe Soto Zen Buddhist holidays for ourselves
• To learn and observe comparable holidays in other traditions, when possible, with those who are dear to us
• To offer our customs and traditions to our children in a more accessible format

Holidays are a chance to slow the pace of our lives, reflect, and practice gratitude for all things. They can also be stressful, however, especially if our beliefs conflict with those of those around us. Yet at heart, all holidays of peace, goodwill, family and gathering share many of the same values. We can honor and join our loved ones’ customs, and find a shared spirit with our own. In my own life, this has been a process of learning that the symbols we use in different traditions are not as vital as I thought. At times, we can keep our ways in our own hearts, being gentle and patient with others, even when those people may be less patient with our ways. At other times, we can celebrate all ways together! 

“If those who teach Buddhism in the West keep in mind that all dharmas are Buddhadharma, they will not feel like a drop of oil in a glass of water. If you practice in exactly the same way we practice in Vietnam, Tibet, Thailand, Burma, Sri Lanka, Japan, or Korea, the oil drops will always remain separate from the water.” – Thich Nhat Hanh 

I’ve been a member of Treeleaf since 2010, and am married, with two teenage sons. I live in a wonderful, mixed faith family in which my wife and oldest child are Methodist Christian, while my youngest son and I are Soto Zen Buddhist.

Celebrating the new year is a world wide custom, and there’s not anything particularly Buddhist about the idea. The date and type of celebration vary depending on where it’s observed, however. For most of the Western World, New Year’s Eve/Day is commemorated according to the Gregorian Calendar, which is based upon the Earth’s movement around the sun. In many Asian countries, however, lunar cycles determine the start of a new year. This results in the lunar new year being on a different day each year. For 2026, the lunar new year is on February 17th. 

We have a few established ways of commemorating the New Year in the West, but here a couple of interesting customs from Japan: 

Oosouji 大掃除 (big cleaning) takes place between December 13th and 28th, involving a thorough cleaning of homes and offices. Another healthy practice is to watch the first sunrise of the year (hatsuhinode 初日の出 ) ¹

Depending on one’s family dynamic, sitting zazen to mark the new year may be appealing. Whatever you choose, it’s important to bring a spirit of moderation and gratitude to the occasion. It’s easy to be swept up in the excitement of another year, and want to change our habits. Lasting change is moment by moment, however, which is timeless. 

How do you celebrate the new year?