National Public Radio's [Buddhists Prepare To Observe Bodhi Day, When Siddhartha Gautama Became Buddha](https://www.npr.org/2020/12/05/943453999/buddhists-prepare-to-observe-bodhi-day-when-siddhartha-gautama-became-buddha) article and podcast begins: >These winter holidays are a time for fellowship, joy and, for religious people around the world, worship. For many Buddhists, Bodhi Day is December 8. And tomorrow starts the celebration. Bodhi Day marks the day that Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha. Wikipedia's [Bodhi Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodhi_Day) mentions Mahayana Buddhism and specifically Zen Buddhism. For those who recognize Bodhi Day is the Gregorian date of December 8 universal, or do some Mahayana Buddhists use a lunar calendar to place it?

I'm a lay Buddhist and it's almost Christmas, and I would like to know if it is acceptable for Buddhists to celebrate Santa Claus. I have children and want them to be happy. Does anyone know the answer to this question? Thanks! P.S. My question is somewhat related to [this one](https://buddhism.stackexchange.com/q/13248/20191) .

Are any Buddhist holidays associated with gift giving? If so, which holidays and what types of gifts are customarily given?

Is it wrong when Buddhist celebrate Christmas? I definitely shocked when I saw a monk facebook's status then he wrote that we do the wrong thing when we celebrate Christmas. Is that true?

Have any modern Buddhist organization adopted the Gregorian calendar for celebrating Buddhist holidays? Last time I tried to find something simple as Vesak or some of the other common Buddhist Holiday's, they are celebrated on a lunar calendar and differ from country to country, ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vesak#Dates_of_observance I'm not affiliated with any particular organized sangha, so I have two challenges-- deciding which holidays to celebrate, and even after that, there isn't a lot of agreement on how to calculate the day.

In the New Jersey State Board of Education's List of Religious Holidays Permitting Student Absence from School , the Chinese/Lunar New Year (Feb 19, 2015) is listed as a "Confucian/Daoist/Buddhist" holiday. I didn't think there was any connection with Buddhism. So is there?

I understand Buddhists don't technically worship, but pray to the Buddha or meditate (apologies for any mistakes). My question is: do Buddhists have a certain number of times a day to worship/pray/meditate? And is there a certain day/days out of the week they congregate together to worship/pray/meditate?

Uposatha (a.k.a. Poya Day) is the traditional Buddhist observance day. Observances vary but one traditional pattern is to celebrate this day on the lunar calendar on each of four moon events; the new moon, full moon, and quarter moons. For those living in traditional Buddhist countries or communities, there may be opportunities to visit a monastery. But how do those in non Buddhist countries celebrate the holiday?