Part I: Holiseason

Samain                                                                       Thanksgiving Moon

Two thoughts kept rambling through yesterday and today. The first, how much more comfortable I felt when I remembered holiseason was here. The second, how to avoid demonizing whole populations with words like racist, sexist, homophobe, misogynist, classist. (I’ll post about this tomorrow.)

imagesHoliseason. I find myself soothed and enriched by certain traditions. The holidays are among them. When I eased my psyche into holiseason yesterday, I realized that the holidays will help me survive the insults of Trump’s election.

Here’s what I mean.  Holiseason begins now with Rosh Hashana, Yom Kippur, Sukkot and Simchat Torah. Each year Jews all over the world celebrate new year, then follow it with 10 days of soul searching, flaw finding and asking for forgiveness. Can you imagine how those activities will be greeted in the Trump Whitehouse? Neither can I.

With Samain we enter the Celtic new year, celebrating not the fecundity of the earth, but its time of rest and renewal. Next week comes Thanksgiving when families all over America come together to eat, watch football and argue. Probably a grand family tradition at chez Trump.

happyAfter Thanksgiving, or around it sometimes, the Wheel turns to the festivals of light like Diwali, Hannukah, Christmas. We decorate and illuminate. We sing songs, give and receive gifts, enter into traditions older, much older than our nation.

The Winter Solstice also comes in this time. It is a festival of the dark, not the light. It is the moment of darkness, actual physical darkness, at its deepest and longest of the year. As some of you who read this know, this is my favorite holiday. It will be a time this year to concentrate my mind, meditate, discern what path forward makes sense in light of the many assaults on human life and on our planet to come next year and for the next four years.

After that, Kwanza, then the Gregorian New Year comes full force. Ball dropping at Times Square. Silly hats. Noise makers. And finally the feast of the Epiphany on January 6th. After the Epiphany we return to Ordinary Time, though on January 20th Ordinary Time will get a sudden jolt with the orange faced hair piece getting sworn in as the President. Aaiiieeee!