Mabon Celebration - Celebrating the Harvest

 

I attended a Mabon celebration the other night at the UU church with my witchy sister and her very witchy friends. It's always a pleasure to be with this warm and friendly earth-centered group and Mabon was no exception.

First, let me explain that in the pagan Wheel of the Year, Mabon is the autumnal equinox. It's a time to give thanks for the harvest and fruits of the summer and an acknowledgment that winter will soon be upon us … a change in the seasons that is required to let the earth rest in preparation for springtime.

The Mabon altar was highlighted in candles and colorful fallen leaves. Pumpkins, squash, apples and grapes … fruits of September's harvest … filled the cornucopia. Lin led us in a simple ceremony of thankful words and contemplation of the season and its significance. Though I'm neither Wiccan nor Pagan, I can appreciate their contemplative nature and embrace their earthly philosophies.

We were each asked to bring a fallen leaf. On it we wrote the things we wished to cast away with the change of the seasons. I had a lot of “baggage” from this past year and I was happy to write it all down on a rather large oak leaf. We each folded our leaf and put it away in our pockets.

Pam had brought a sky lantern which I'd never seen before. Before the traditional potluck feast, we trundled outside the church into the crisp evening to light it. Its wick lit, it quickly filled with hot air, expanded and flew off into the night sky. We cast away our leaves at the same time. Luckily, mine was quite brittle and when the opportunity arose, I crumbled it and let it all go. Hopefully all the bad juju from this year went with it … and for that I will be thankful.

4th of July

 

The 4th of July. What a great summer holiday in the US, celebrating our revolutionary spirit with fireworks, cookouts and parades. Boston is called the “cradle of liberty” because so much of that revolutionary spirit was nurtured and demonstrated here. It was on this day in 1776 that our forefathers, regular guys like Ben Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, who hated paying taxes to Mother England (simplified history book version), adopted the Declaration of Independence. George Washington wasn't there … he was getting ready to lead an army. And the rest is history.

David likes reading history. I'm more inclined to get his quick review of a book rather than plodding through the pages and then coax him into visiting places where historical events occurred. You can't beat Boston when it comes to historical places, many of which are associated with the Revolutionary War, the Spirit of 1776 and subsequently, the 4th of July. We visited Minuteman National Historic Park in Concord last summer … walking distance from Boston … for the Minutemen anyway. There's Bunker Hill Monument and the North Bridge, the Midnight Ride of Paul Revere, the old North Church.

Typically, the big event in Boston is a concert by the Boston Pops Orchestra punctuated with synchronized fireworks and held on the Boston Esplanade on the banks of the Charles River on the evening of July 3rd. The traditional Boston Pops classic is the 1812 Overture (Hmm...the War of 1812 … yet another war with England...they're certainly persistent buggers) followed by a rousing version of Stars and Stripes forever.

We planned on attending a nearby fireworks display last night, but our energy dissipated before it was dark enough for the pyrotechnic display. We've had rain and thunderstorms for days now and the forecast for more kept us wimps in. So how are we celebrating the 4th? We'll fly the flag and maybe eat hotdogs and hamburgers while we watch The Patriot with Mel Gibson tonight. It's a reasonably good story, but not necessarily the way things happened. Whoever let the truth get in the way of a good story … or Mel Gibson?

We'll sing Yankee Doodle, too. Believe it or not, it's actually a Revolutionary War era song sung by the British soldiers making fun of the poorly armed and attired colonists whom they considered country bumpkins. Hmm … Guess we showed 'em!

Enjoy the 4th!

Summer Solstice

 

Today is Summer Solstice … June 21st, the advent of summer and the longest day of the year … if you're north of the equator, that is. For the folks down under, it's the shortest day of the year and winter sets in. I'm glad I'm in New England because summers here are absolutely grand.

We hear the local kids out early in the morning. The same kids that grouched about having to get up early for school are now up early without prodding and heading out for summer adventures. I remember early morning swimming lessons and running wild in our woodsy little neighborhood with an unparalleled freedom and feeling of abandon. Much like sailing, I'd say.

There are certain signs of summer that fill me with nostalgia. The musical sounds of the ice cream man as his truck wends its way through the neighborhood streets … usually just around dinner time to the dismay of parents. The kids clamber up to the truck with their nickels (that was when I was young), I mean dollars, and choose some mouth-watering delight from the smiling vendor's endless list of wonderful frozen novelties.

Beach chairs are set strategically at the ends of docks at freshwater beaches. Local ponds always have muddy bottoms and I used to hate it when my feet sank into the oozy, thick slime. Best to keep afloat as long as you could. The swimming pools have opened and soon they'll be swarmed as the temperatures continue their upward trend … at last.

Carnivals, sponsored by the local Lion's Club or the Rotary or the Elks, come to town. I like to watch the amusements, but we're not inclined to jump on board any rides that swirl you in the air upside down, then jerk you around precariously. We've watched how fast the carnies set up these rides and it doesn't provide too much confidence. Not to mention, I'm really a carousel kind of girl.

Long summer days here are characterized by sweating, the sound of June bugs and cicadas and spacious blue skies often darkened by late afternoon thunderstorms. Warm, humid nights bring fireflies and the sounds of owls hooting nearby. Though we wish were back aboard Nine of Cups, perhaps experiencing a long awaited New England summer beats living aboard through a cold, wet winter in South Australia.