February 8th is “Nirvana Day,” a Mahayana Buddhist festival day in commemoration of the death of the Buddha. Gautama is said to have spoken these last words to his students before expiring at age eighty: “Now, monks, I declare to you, all conditioned things are of a nature to decay. Strive on untiringly!”

The Paranibbana Sutta, which describes the Buddha’s last days is often read on Nirvana (or Parinirvana) Day. Says Beliefnet’s multifaith religious calendar: “It is a good day to reflect upon one’s own future death, and on friends or relations who have recently passed away.”