Magha Puja

Today is the Buddhist holiday of Magha Puja, celebrated by Buddhists in Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. The origins of the holiday are as follows: 9 months after the Buddha achieved enlightenment,on a night of a full moon (which in itself was a special thing being in a lunar calendar) on a seemingly random night, 1,250 followers all came to the Buddha at once, unplanned. All 1,250 of them were Arhanta (spiritual followers who achieve a high level of enlightenment) who had been ordained by the Buddha personally, and then at this meeting, the Buddha gave them the principles Buddhism, called "The ovadhapatimokha": - To cease from all evil,- To do what is good,- To cleanse one's mind.

in observation of this day, observant Buddhists will go to temples to pray and venerate the Buddha (Puja means venerate).IN addition, they will do extra good deeds, and be mindful of the precepts of the Buddha*.

for most of us here in Bangkok, it means a three day weekend. The idea of the holiday sounds lovely, and the timing of it is perfect, making up for my missing presidents' day in new york.
So, my plans for today include: cleaning my apartment, doing laundry, having lunch with a friend, laying by the pool and going to the gym. Tomorrow, the continuation of tourism in Bangkok commences.

*all information regarding Magha Puja was obtained through wikipedia.