May Day...May Day...May Day

 

May Day. May Day. May Day.

No, there is no emergency. Sorry, if I alarmed you. We just celebrated May Day on Sunday and I thought I'd share it with you. May Day, aka Beltane, is a celebration of fertility. It is Mother Earth's consummate union with The Green Man, signifying the beginning of the summer season and the abundance and fecundity of the earth after a long, harsh winter.

So how did we celebrate? We joined Lin's wicca/earth-centered group once again at the UU church in Milton. Lin loaned me a long, gauzy, billowy skirt to wear a la my hippy wardrobe of the 60's. She was the mistress of ceremonies this time and led the group. She spoke of the festivals celebrated for centuries past with bonfires, flower wreaths and dancing around the Maypole, a phallic symbol, for sure. We drank mead, broke bread, jumped over our mini-Beltane fire and then … yup, we danced around the Maypole … on the church lawn.

Long, colorful ribbons had been attached to the top of the pole before it was erected and each member (20 or more of us) grabbed a strand of ribbon and began weaving it around the pole. One person strung the ribbon over, the next person under … everyone lost track and before long, it didn't matter. Laughing and good fun ensued till the ribbons were short and the weaving was complete. A potluck feast and a bit of wine topped off the late afternoon celebration. I'm ready for summer. Bring it on!

Easter

 

Easter has always been a fun holiday in our family. As a kid, growing up in Massachusetts, I remember getting a new Easter dress, hat and shoes. Many times there was still snow on the ground. We went to church and then came home for a ham dinner with the grandparents. Easter baskets were filled with hollow chocolate bunnies and Peeps, those disgusting, bright yellow, marshmallow chicks which now, I find, come in any number of neon, unnatural chick colors.

With our own kids, Easter was more of a “welcome Spring” holiday than a religious event. We dyed and decorated eggs. Casey and I usually made a large 3-D lamb-shaped cake frosted white and covered in coconut. The two boys found great joy in leaving a trail of black jellybeans near the lamb's butt ... the ultimate gross joke on Mom. Hee, hee, hee. Of course, they forgot I was the one who bought the black jelly beans in the first place.

The Easter Bunny hid candy treats and plastic eggs all over the house and the yard. The kids used their baskets to collect all the booty. As they got older, the egg hunt became more of a scavenger hunt with clues to follow and riddles to solve and monetary treats as well as confectionery ones.

In Australia, it's the Easter Bilby, not rabbit, that brings all the goodies. The rabbit-eared bilby really does look bunny-ish, although Lord knows, there are plenty of rabbits in Australia, too, though they're not native.

So now, fast track to being in New England for Easter. I was here last year, as a matter of fact, and the whole family, all adults now, spent the morning coloring and decorating eggs. I thought it would make sense to try that again this year with Mom, Lin and family.

We'll have lots of flowers … tulips, lilies, alstroemeria, daffodils, colored Easter eggs, a bit of chocolate and generally a celebration of Spring and family. The bad part? David is not with us. He's celebrating with the refrig/freezer in Adelaide. Hopefully, he'll be in Boston with us soon.

It makes no difference if you're celebrating Easter or Passover or the coming of Spring (or autumn, if you're down under). In my book, it's the opportunity to celebrate that counts. Carpe diem … every single diem.

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

Crayola Day

Crayolas were first introduced in 1903. Remember getting a new box of crayons as a kid? No broken tips. All those wonderful colors. That waxy smell. Check out the Crayola website for some fun things to do and then checkWiki for a list of colors...WOW!

Bunsen Burner Day

Remember chemistry class? This day celebrates the invention of the Bunsen Burner by German chemist Robert Wilhelm Eberhard von Bunsen. Do not melt your crayons!

Easter Sunday

Put on your Easter Bonnet and join the Easter Parade. Go to church, celebrate Spring, see what the Easter Bunny brought or participate in an egg hunt. Of course, if you're in Australia, you'll be checking to see what the Easter Bilby brought!

Rites of Spring - Ostara

 

My sister, Lin, is a witch. No, you didn't misread that. She's a witch and her earth-centered group, a coven, if you will, met a couple of nights ago to celebrate Ostara, the return of Spring. Ostara aka Eastre or Ēostre in Old English was a pre-8th century German pagan goddess associated with the celebration of Easter. I'm always fascinated with the origins of traditional holidays. Though many holidays have been adopted into traditional religious calendars, their origins usually trace back to natural yearly occurrences. It only made sense for me to accompany her to the celebration. The historic UU church in Milton was a lovely venue for the evening meeting.

When we talk about witches here, we're not talking brooms, black magic and animal sacrifice. I've been to several Wiccan meetings with Lin over the years. They revolve around celebrating nature, especially the change of seasons. The Sun, the Moon, the directions of the compass, the elements of fire, water, air, fire and aether (spirit, that which unites them) ... these all play a major role in the ritual circle celebration. As an “unaffiliated” attendee, I find it fascinating to participate and I'm always welcomed into the circle.

Witchcraft got a bad rap along the way, I think. Historically, when certain phenomenon could not be explained or someone knew the uses and healing nature of herbs and plants, it was easy to label it witchcraft. Then, of course, if you could swim in the early 1600's, that was a sure sign of the presence of witchcraft. Hang 'em high, press them, drown them.

The ceremony consisted of the participants sitting in a circle. A simple altar was laid with wine, pussy willows and seeds sharing the main places of honor. There were readings about the myth of Demeter and Persephone, then some discussion of Spring as the season of renewal and rebirth. We planted seeds, symbolic of the season. We toasted with wine. We feasted. We enjoyed each other's company.

This was a fine way to welcome in the new season ... pagan or otherwise.

Days and Ways to Celebrate

A daily list of mostly obscure holidays and fun ways to celebrate them.

Eat Something on a Stick Day

Popsicle, yes! Corn dog, NO!