Okay, this post is a momentary diversion from the usual subject matter of this blog. But maybe you can figure out a way to tie it back in to socially engaged Buddhism. Go for it.
Yesterday, I posted a question on my Facebook page: If you could create a new national (or better yet, global) holiday, what would it be? Some great answers have been coming in, including:
- World Garden Day
- Columbus Didn’t Discover America Day
- Love and Dark Chocolate Day (which sounds a lot like Valentine’s Day to me)
- Peace Disarmament Day
- Karma Day (in which we confess and make amends, set aside blames and forget)
- Jubilee Day (in which all debts are forgiven)
- Do Nothing Day
So, dear reader, I ask you the same question — what new holiday deserves a place on all of our calendars? How might the world be a better place, if even for just one day, if we celebrated that occasion?
The Jizo Chronicles 
No using the cell phone for anything (outside of an legtimate emergency) day.
🙂 In my defense, Valentine’s Day is about creating couples. Love & Dark Chocolate is about … well… Love… and Chocolate… in a global, interconnected way.
Maia – May be a diversion but a good one – good stuff
“Outer silence day.” No car, no phone, no computer. Just sitting, smiling, eating simple foods. Don’t leave the house, don’t talk, don’t even read, just listen deeply to your own heart.
@Genju: Ah — now I see the difference! Yes, that’s true — Valentine’s is so focused on the ‘couple’ kind of love. It would be great if there were a holiday to celebrate love in ALL its forms… families, friends, co-workers, beloved animal companions, beloved communities…
@Justin: I love the idea of “Outer Silence Day.”
My contribution to the holiday pantheon would be a Car-free Day. Actually, Thich Nhat Hanh suggested this a while ago (sadly, the website created for that purpose seems to be defunct), and there is a larger global movement dedicated to this cause: http://www.worldcarfree.net/wcfd/
Car-free Day happens on September 22.
In a future Jizo Chronicles post I’ll get on my soapbox about this… suffice it for now to say that I believe driving our privately owned cars is one of the most harmful things we do each day, and yet most of us are in complete denial about this. (Bet you can’t wait until I get on that soapbox!)