Holidays Part 2
I had a flurry of witchy activities at the end of October and the
beginning of November, and I am looking forward to the holidays and
activities to come. Inspired by Allec's holiday post, I decided to write about my own practices, upcoming and past, true and hypothetical.
April. I don't have many holidays to celebrate in April. My dad's birthday is April, so we usually go out for dinner. I like to do something to celebrate Shakespeare, if only drinking out of my Shakespeare quotes coffee mug or posting something on Facebook. I don't celebrate Easter (which is often in April) since I'm not Catholic anymore, but I sometimes reflect on Jesus, who I think was an inspiring person with many great messages. Spring typically begins in April here, so I am on the lookout for daffodils, tulips, and robins.
May. My birthday is in May, and I typically celebrate it with a decent amount of fanfare. I don't have any Beltane/May Day traditions, though I might do May Day baskets this year. My UU pagan group did a maypole dance last year, but I didn't participate because I wasn't involved in the UU group yet, though I was attending UU Sunday services regularly by that point. We did the UU flower communion in May, which is one of my favorite UU services.
School ends in May, which is an exciting time as an educator, though kids can get a little feisty toward the end our time together. Kids at our school, especially those moving on to the next phase of their education, weep intensely after our end-of-the-year carnival. This year, I made a trip to see family in Colorado for Memorial Day, which I might do again this year.
June. Midsummer is special to me, since I did a formal dedication (when I was more neo-Wicca-focused) one midsummer a few years ago. I was focused a lot on the Sun, and I got the burn to prove it! This year, I went to a local lake, dipped my toes in the water, ate some snacks, left an offering for the earth, and napped under a berry tree, completely destroying a pink Snuggie with blue stains. I felt completely safe in the Earth Goddess' bosom and connected to the earth. A few days later, we did a drumming and dance circle in the UU group, which was my first ever pagan group experience. There was a lone strawberry in the middle of the circle, and I got my nose pierced (pink for the strawberry) to commemorate the occasion. As with the other solstice and equinox holidays, I like to do something on the actual day, even if it's small, and then participate in a group ritual when convenient.
June is the nice part of summer here; July and August can be pretty miserably hot and humid, so I spend most of June in full summer frolic mode, attending all the outdoor events I possibly can before the heat sets in. My extended family usually rents a few cabins in Minnesota for a week, and I will finally be able to go this year, after a ten year absence due to school and work conflicts.
April. I don't have many holidays to celebrate in April. My dad's birthday is April, so we usually go out for dinner. I like to do something to celebrate Shakespeare, if only drinking out of my Shakespeare quotes coffee mug or posting something on Facebook. I don't celebrate Easter (which is often in April) since I'm not Catholic anymore, but I sometimes reflect on Jesus, who I think was an inspiring person with many great messages. Spring typically begins in April here, so I am on the lookout for daffodils, tulips, and robins.
May. My birthday is in May, and I typically celebrate it with a decent amount of fanfare. I don't have any Beltane/May Day traditions, though I might do May Day baskets this year. My UU pagan group did a maypole dance last year, but I didn't participate because I wasn't involved in the UU group yet, though I was attending UU Sunday services regularly by that point. We did the UU flower communion in May, which is one of my favorite UU services.
School ends in May, which is an exciting time as an educator, though kids can get a little feisty toward the end our time together. Kids at our school, especially those moving on to the next phase of their education, weep intensely after our end-of-the-year carnival. This year, I made a trip to see family in Colorado for Memorial Day, which I might do again this year.
June. Midsummer is special to me, since I did a formal dedication (when I was more neo-Wicca-focused) one midsummer a few years ago. I was focused a lot on the Sun, and I got the burn to prove it! This year, I went to a local lake, dipped my toes in the water, ate some snacks, left an offering for the earth, and napped under a berry tree, completely destroying a pink Snuggie with blue stains. I felt completely safe in the Earth Goddess' bosom and connected to the earth. A few days later, we did a drumming and dance circle in the UU group, which was my first ever pagan group experience. There was a lone strawberry in the middle of the circle, and I got my nose pierced (pink for the strawberry) to commemorate the occasion. As with the other solstice and equinox holidays, I like to do something on the actual day, even if it's small, and then participate in a group ritual when convenient.
June is the nice part of summer here; July and August can be pretty miserably hot and humid, so I spend most of June in full summer frolic mode, attending all the outdoor events I possibly can before the heat sets in. My extended family usually rents a few cabins in Minnesota for a week, and I will finally be able to go this year, after a ten year absence due to school and work conflicts.
Comments
Post a Comment