We’re talking about Ceremony
Wow! December is here! Another year end approaches at the speed of light, and as the weather heats up here, and cools down for our northern friends, our thoughts turn to celebrations and the passing of time.
Our chosen theme for December is Ceremony. A little different from the usual, and boy, have our contributors stepped up their wisdom and generosity this month! Besides their usual ’space’, each of our contributors is sharing an insight into their personal Christmas and year ...
end festivities! We’ll showcase a couple each week throughout December, and we’d love you to join in the fun too!
I’ve been thinking about Ceremony and Tradition, Endings and Beginnings a lot the last few weeks, as the reality of imminent December hit me. At first, I started to panic because I felt way behind. In years past, I would always aim to have my gift shopping completed before December 1st. This year, I got to the last week in November and I’d barely made my list. I got that tight chested feeling, an ‘oh no’ of alarming proportions.
And then I recognised the panic and stopped to work out why I felt that way. I had this goal, set in my mind, that the list must be made and the gifts must be bought before that date. When I dug a little deeper, the reason I’d had this goal in past years was because I had young children and once school holidays commenced I wasn’t free to shop without them (and I really don’t cope well in crowded shopping centres). My youngest is now eleven, and he’s fine to leave at home with an older sibling if I need to go to the shops. And these days, I do a lot of my shopping online and have it delivered to my door, so those crowded shopping centres can mostly be avoided. Wow. Panic subsided, I was able to sit down with my notebook and knock out a list or two with ease.
What is it about the “way we’ve always done it” that keeps us doing it long after the reason expires?
I heard a story of a woman who each year cut the end off the Christmas ham before she popped it into the oven to cook. When her daughter asked her why, she didn’t know. That’s the way her Mother always does it. So Grandma was asked, and her response was the same – “that’s the way my Mother always did it”. A call to great-grandma, who laughed and replied “I did that because the ham was too big to fit in my baking dish!” (If you know the source of the story, please let me know – this is my remembered version of it).
Are you doing stuff at this time of year because that’s the way it’s always been done? That’s fine as long as it is still working for you. But if it’s become something you dislike doing, or even dread, something that causes that feeling of panic and wakes you up at night, now is the time to start questioning why.
Ceremonies are there to enhance our lives, add that meaning and sense of tradition. If it’s no longer a joy, then by all means swap it out for something that brings a smile to your face! You deserve it.
This year, my family are swapping out the Christmas Lunch tradition for a Christmas Eve dinner when the sun has set and the air cooled a little. The food will still be cold, the drinks colder still, and we’ll chill with candles and fairy lights and enjoy the evening with both our families together on our back veranda – everyone contributing to the meal in their own way – 20 of us in all!
And now, without further ado, let me introduce you to the goodness within The Calm Space this month!
This Week:
At Serenity Space – I share 5 Ways Rituals Add Magic to Your Life
At Nature Space – Amy Palko with Ceremonial Nature
At Design Space – Vitania M Liscio with A Christmas Dinner to Remember
At Wisdom Space – three more contributors to The Calm Space are Sharing MORE of Our Holiday Magic!
Last Week:
At Wisdom Space – two more contributors to The Calm Space are Sharing Our Holiday Magic
At Living Space – Anne Maybus with Ceremony of the Brandy Cream Sauce
At Kitchen Table Space – Janice Hunter with And the Angels Sang
At Spa Space – I share Foot Bath Bliss for the Festive Season
Week One:
At Organising Space – Angela Esnouf with Five Ways to Reduce Stress and Make Celebrating a Joy
At Spiritual Space – Annie Hutton with Add a Little Bit of Magic to your Christmas
At Wisdom Space – Oh What Fun: Sharing Our End of Year Magic! The Calm Space Writers tell you about their celebrations and ceremonies! This week – Dee and Anne.
At Breathing Space – A reminder to Breathe… featuring the unique photography of Amy Palko!
The fun will continue throughout December. Each week we’ll feature more of our writer’s celebrations and ceremonies at Wisdom Space, and next week we’ll have Relationship Space with Chris Owen and Sound Space with Dee Le Blang and more…
Until then, be safe, be kind and above all, be joyful!
From our hearts to yours, Merry, Merry Christmas!
Káren xx
Photo credit: Clara’s Chinese Charm by Rosa Say
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