Christmas and New Year are times when family members gather together. As a Plum Village tradition, we practice to create a warm and loving spiritual home for everyone to come back to. This year we also had an online New Year’s retreat with over 1,200 people joining our extended family to generate a lot of courage, love and hope for 2021. The spirit of giving is expressed through different activities such as offering spring rolls to our neighbors and services that support our livelihood during the year. We also celebrated Advent and shared our joy of caroling around the neighborhood.
Please enjoy photos of this meaningful time.
Offering Christmas songs to our neighbors. 
Making spring rolls… 
…in mindfulness. 
Express cooling the spring rolls to pack into boxes, ready for delivery. 
Many hands make light works 
The gift is ready for delivery. 
Many friends to offer our love and gratitude to. 
Bicycling to deliver to our neighbors. 
Joyeux Noel… 
et bonne annee 
…offering love and care. 
Live streaming Christmas Eve performances for people all over the world to join us. 
The monastic choir offered “Away in a manger” 
Feliz Navidad offered in a true Spanish spirit. 
“I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas… from the bottom of my heart.” 
A Christmas skit 
Long-term lay friends offering their joy and happiness. 
The technical team working tirelessly to connect people and ensure the live stream works well. 
The camera and sound team 
Christmas gathering for the monastic community on the 25th of December as a spiritual family to celebrate our brotherhood and sisterhood. 
Retelling the story of the Little Brown Riding Hood. 
Santa Clauses visit Plum Village. 
New Hamlet sisters offering a gift to the Son Ha brothers. 
Offering simple gifts between the three hamlets in the Christmas gathering for the monastic community. 
Lower Hamlet sisters offering a gift to Upper Hamlet brothers. 
Upper Hamlet offering New Hamlet a gift. 
Singing together 
The Prajna bell and drum are invited to welcome the New Year in a ceremony which was live streamed for the retreatants of the New Year’s retreat. 
Sitting and cultivating peace and solidity for the coming year. 
Offering incense to the Buddha and the ancestors. 
Reading the new year prayer to the Buddha and our ancestors, and expressing our aspiration for the year. 
Offering tea to the Buddha and the ancestors 
A Plum Village tradition is to write down a wish and aspiration for the New Year and burn it in a fire of collective awakening. 
Requesting support from the whole cosmos to realize our aspiration. 
Connecting with our global family to enjoy a some reflections and performances before the New year ceremony. 
Performing the song of the 16 mindful breathing exercises. 
Long-term lay friends offer a creative dance.
Join the conversation