Burning of the Tree

Though January 1st was officially the first day of 2015, Lin never considers the previous year truly ended until she “de-decorates” the house and burns the Christmas tree. We spent a morning lugging boxes from the basement, taking all the Xmas decorations down and ornaments off the tree and packing them carefully till next year...then lugging all the boxes back down to the basement. (In New England, we refer to the basement as the “cellah”.) After the ornaments were all stowed, we cleaned and vacuumed and straightened up. The vacuum cleaner always smells good after it has sucked up all those dry pine needles. The house, which usually looks elegant, always looks stark when the decorations go away.

Lin and Matt lugged the tree out to the chiminaria and cut it into burnable pieces to get the fire blazing.

Anything bad that's happened during the year or is currently going on gets written down on a piece of paper and thrown into the fire with the tree and promptly gets burned away. It's a cleansing of the old year and a clean start to the new … kind of an extension of the Yule celebration.

Of course, there is drinking involved. After all, it's cold outside and hot, mulled cider with rum does wonders to keeping a body warm … both physically and spiritually.

There were football games to watch afterward and a huge pot of Lemay Special was simmering on the stove. How can the year ahead be anything but wonderful?

Celebrating Yule

Yule on the pagan calendar is the observance of the winter solstice in the northern hemisphere. Lin's earth-centered group usually gets together at this time of year to celebrate the rebirth of the sun and the beginning of the winter season. It is one of the oldest winter celebrations known. The group couldn't find a time to get together on the actual solstice date, so they celebrated late and we joined them.

David rarely attends these type of functions, but he thought it might be interesting to participate this time and came along. We brought food and wine to share and gifts to exchange. David had made an ocean plait mat for the occasion with an old halyard from Cups and that was our exchange gift. The attendance was small this year (only 10 of us), but quite enjoyable.

Pam officiated at a small altar decorated with candles and fresh holly and food for a small feast … bread (in this case, gluten-free ginger cookies) and wine. Lin cast the circle signifying the forming of a sacred, safe, magical place that would contain the positive energy we would be generating. The candles were lit with deference to north, south, east and west. Everyone read parts in the simple ceremony which acknowledged the winter months ahead with the promise of the return of the sun and the Spring that would follow. It's a time of contemplation, reflection and opportunity.

Pagan rituals, upon which many modern religions draw their holiday celebrations, date back millennia, and coincide with the change of seasons and the cycle of life in acknowledgment of and in accordance with nature's strength and harmony. Incidentally, this group is called Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans … CUUPS, for short.

I know … it seems weird if you're not into it, aren't familiar with pagan ideas or never attended a ceremony. We found it enjoyable to spend an evening with interesting, genuinely warm people and a good opportunity to reflect upon the year past and the year ahead. No small animal sacrifices were involved.

New Year's Resolutions 2016

Same old, same old

Happy New Year! We're still recovering from last night's festivities, but I have been thinking about my New Year's resolutions a bit. It's not difficult. One thing about my New Year's resolutions, I'm consistent. I always resolve to do the same things and I rarely accomplish them. Take a look at my 2015 resolutions, for instance, four simple items …

Resolved for 2015 ...

1. Lose some weight by eating healthier (and less!) and avoiding junk food
2. Exercise regularly … especially back exercises
3. Finish and publish another book … a cookbook, maybe?
4. Be kinder and better-natured – I have the propensity to be more cranky the older I get

Sad to report, these resolutions look suspiciously the same as 2014, 2013 and 2012. Had I resolved to gain 10 pounds this year, not finish a book and exercise irregularly or not at all, I'd be happily resolved and totally pleased with myself. I'd still be working on the kinder, better-natured item.

So for 2016, I'm really getting down to business and the list is a little longer. Resolved …

1. Lose weight … eat less, eat healthy, less alcohol, blah, blah, blah
2. Exercise … walk, floor exercises, blah, blah, blah
3. Finish a book … I have four started. You'd think with a whole year before me, I could get one finished, huh?
4. Work on the new website. I have a mental block using the new software. I need to get past it. I was thinking if I promised myself a tasty snack every time I finished a page, that would be a good incentive, but then resolution #1 goes out the window again. An unresolved conundrum!
5. Continue writing a daily blog … this one's easy that's why I included it.
6. Be kinder, gentler and better natured … one can only accomplish so much in a year's time, but I plan to keep trying.

This year, David added his own resolutions …

1. Eat healthy and smaller portions
2. Write a blog once a week
3. Finish a book
4. Quit smoking

“But, David, you haven't smoked since 1980.”

“Yeah, I figured I needed a ringer.”

Check back in about a year...we'll see how we did.

Please resolve to travel with us in 2016.

Happy New Year everyone!