Feeling somewhat swamped by the Christmas festival, I’ve decided to try and balance the ledger a little by building a family calendar that includes other regular events. (T maybe somewhat bewildered – not to say P – but I have high hopes that J will grow up believing that this is the way we have always been.)
I borrowed a bunch of books from the library with a view to unearthing different things we could do. I became somewhat sceptical about the information contained therein when I read that many Australians eat their roast turkey on the beach on Christmas day! Oh those nutty folk down under!
The Australian calendar of public holidays was a good starting point, and I’ve decided to adopt Anzac Day (25th April). I like it because the public holiday falls on the day of the event, and there is actually a public event that we can participate in – namely the dawn service. OK, I confess that the dawn bit is a bit of a problem, but I am determined (while safely ensconced in December) to do this. We can then build a tradition of a yummy breakfast picnic afterwards.
Buddha’s birthday is celebrated in May/June, so I will find out more about what may be happening at the local monastry. Could be nothing – Buddhists can be pretty low key – but we might at least be able to attend an offering of food to the monks.
I’ve always liked the idea of recognising the winter solstice, so I’m thinking this could be an event where we make lots of home made candles and get out of the city into the cold dark night. We *might* make sacrifices and chant in circles, but more likely we’ll huddle around a camp fire with some mulled wine. Initial research suggests that I might be attracted to “World Pantheism” a sort of naturalist pagan spirituality (less of the gobbledy gook, more of the respect for nature). I’m glad I found this, as I was a bit concerned when first confronted with the types of props I might like to purchase to assist in pagan ceremonies.
I also like the the idea of Earth Day (there are actually two, the original one on the equinox – 20 March, and the more recent one that includes Earth Hour, on 22 April.) I actually prefer the first, but the second involving people around the world turning off their lights as a symbol of treading more lightly on the earth is rather lovely too. Maybe we can do both – though autumn is looking almost overwhelming!
My other thought was to see whether there might be a local Noongah celebration of some kind. Obviously not ’secret business’, but it might be nice for all of us to have some exposure to the original culture of where we live. I could find nothing via my usual sources of google and the library. This might have to be a “purchased” experience of sorts – I’m thinking eating spring time bush tucker, listening to stories of the Dreamtime, etc. (Could I be more of a tourist?) I know of one place in the Swan Valley that does this sort of thing, so that could be a starting point.
I also checked out Reconciliation Australia, as I thought they might be likely to host community events. National Reconciliation Week from 27 May (1967 referendum) to 3 June (1992 Mabo decision) seems like an appropriate opportunity to participate, but there is no reconciliation council in WA. I was directed to the relevant department and have emailed them to find out what might be on.
With a more balanced calendar, I am opening up to more fully embrace the Christian festivals that the dominant culture provides. I have found some wonderful wooden advent calendars on-line, with little drawers that you open up and inside each drawer there is a magnetic nativity character that you use to build your nativity scene on the magnetic board in the middle. I was thinking I could also put a little “Christmas activity” note in each drawer – eg, on 1 December “Put up Christmas tree”, 2 December “sing carols” etc.
I’ve also come up with a purpose for my nemesis, Santa Claus. I’ve decided that he can bring craft supplies for the following year. I would be buying them anyway, I can collect while they’re on special through the year, they’re great without being unbelievably amazing, and if this is what he *always* brings, that might remove some of the hype.
Given that we have avoided the Easter Bunny and the chocolate egg fest so far, I am absolutely determined to hold the line! I will try to think of another way to recognise Easter at our house. I can’t let those canny marketers at the church convince my kids that that their beliefs trump all others by connecting them with goodies all the time!
If anyone out there would like to join us in developing any of these – or other – family traditions, we would love your company and shared commitment to broadening our horizons.
