What Does This Holiday Season Mean to You?

 

Tis the season!  The end of October through the beginning of January can sometimes seem like one long stretch of celebrations full of treats, rich food and festivities.  “Happy Holidays!” sing out between friends, acquaintances, and complete strangers.  Have you ever paused to wonder what holiday the greeter celebrates and why?

Do you pace yourself between holidays and give yourself time to reflect and enjoy?  Or does this time of year seem like one long marathon..fun, exciting, but also overwhelming and exhausting?

Holidays are meant to create space in our lives to celebrate, pause, rest, and reflect on our life’s journey and choices.

Traditions and customs provide a sense of security and stability in a chaotic world, and enrich our lives by providing meaning, cultural continuity and connection with others. They also provide opportunities to recharge our mind, spirit, body and emotions… if we let them.

Have you stopped to think about what the traditions and customs you observe mean to you?

What do you do if those traditions no longer fit, or your circumstances are such that you cannot observe traditions in the way you were taught?

I asked a few friends and colleagues to share a fall or winter holiday tradition that brings meaning and joy to their lives.

Rhonda Bowen, Sona Lesmeister and Supriya Nabor were kind enough to share with me and with you.

 

Deepawali  - The Festival of Light by Supriya Nabor

There are many festivals in India. And each of the festivals has a particular significance. But my favorite is Deepawali.  I have celebrated Deepawali in this country. Deepawali means a row of lights. I started celebrating for my kids so that they understand their culture and traditions. Since life is hectic and my kids no longer live with me. I have still managed to carry on this tradition. Deepawali usually falls at the end of October or early November. It falls on the darkest day of the month. It signifies triumph of good over evil. I clean my home and wear new clothes and give Indian sweets to friends and family to thank them for being in our lives. I also make an elaborate feast and share it with friends and family. I offer sweets to the Indian Gods and ask for the bestowal of their blessings upon my family.  On the third day of the celebration the bond between husband and wife is renewed and honored. On the fourth day of the festivities the brother and sister bond are strengthened. After the fourth day all the celebrations are over, and we must wait until the next year.

In addition to Deepawali I also celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family. I feel celebrating these holidays whether it Deepawali, Thanksgiving or Christmas with your family creates a understanding of common bond within the family and honoring and respecting each other in our lives. I feel holidays help us to understand each other and create a depth of love and mutual respect which always help us stay connected to each other.

Supriya Nabar is a nutritionist, cookbook author, blogger, food entrepreneur and owner of Ascend Gourmat Foods, LLC.  On her website, Supriyaskitchen22.com , she teaches cooking classes using her spice blends and nutrition workshops in women related issues using spices as a healing component. You can find Supriya at: https://www.supriyaskitchen22.com/

 

 

Advent by Rhonda L. Bowen

Since my first Christmas in Germany in 1984, I’ve been fascinated by the tradition of advent calendars. Here’s some background information:

The Advent calendar story began in 1838. Johann Heinrich Wichern, director of a Protestant boys' rescue home near Hamburg, was tired of answering the question: When is it Christmas? He took an old wagon wheel and a wooden wreath and put 20 small red and four large white candles on it. During the daily devotions the children were allowed to light a red candle, and on Sundays in Advent, a white candle.

Since that time, advent calendars have developed into many forms. The first printed one made in 1902 and published by the Friedrich Trümpler bookstore in Hamburg resembled a clock. This is a picture of one published a year later by Gerhard Lang entitled "In the land of the Christ Child":

At home my partner and I have a great tradition. One of us takes the odd numbers, the other the evens. We have a string of small socks with numbers. In each one we put a clue about the present that day to guess what it is. The person who bought the present then gives it to the partner to open. Since we don’t like to buy big presents for Christmas, we enjoy having 24 small presents throughout December.

For my business, a few years ago I decided to share this with everyone on LinkedIn. From December 1-24 I post an Advent Calendar idea every day. These are related to my business and help those who read them with their own communication. On December 25 I produce a PDF with all 24 posts to give as a Christmas present to anyone who would like to have all the posts in one place.

Rhonda L. Bowen specializes in helping BEST professionals to become more effective and efficient in their communication across cultures. This saves time, resources and effort and leads to better results and higher success in achieving business and personal goals. You can find Rhonda at: https://rhondalbowen.me/ .

 

 

 

On Traditions by Sona Lesmeister

Growing up, I took traditions for granted. They were woven into the fabric of our life. The family traditions of St. Nicholas Day – complete with a visit from St Nick himself in person, accompanied by a devil and an angel, ready to act, should my behavior (or misbehavior) call for that was such an unnerving night each December 6. Will I be found present-worthy? Will I remember anything to converse with St. Nick about? What song or poem should I share with him?

The tradition of decorating the Christmas tree the morning of Christmas Eve. The memories of a carp fish happily swimming in our bathtub for days leading up to Christmas Eve dinner (when my dad turned that happy fella into fish fillets), fasting until that festive dinner with my family, wondering if I get to see the golden piggy skipping across rooftops, the walk in the woods with pocketfuls of nuts and apples to leave behind for wild animals, to share some goodness of Christmas time,…

When I moved away from home and across the Atlantic Ocean, I felt lost. The traditions of the new home felt foreign, and sometimes downright wrong. I went along with them, albeit cringing sometimes. I wouldn’t recommend it. Taking time to figure out how to weave the traditions you grew up with, into another person’s world, can save you stressful times.

Then I turned a new page in my life, and found myself void of traditions, unsure which to keep, which ones to cultivate, and how to replace those I had outgrown for various reasons. It is daunting task, that I haven’t fully figured out quite yet.

Traditions can be powerful, when done right from the heart. They can also feel constricting and anxious if they don’t align with you, and you just follow a hollow form without meaning and context. When we uproot ourselves, traditions are the umbilical cord to our past, and the inspiration for our future. They provide the sense of sameness, although their actual shape might change – location, people, some elements of the dinner etc.

If you are the one who left, and this time of the year is particularly daunting, I invite you to join me in reflecting on past traditions – what made them meaningful and special? Which elements are worth saving, re-creating, or bringing back in some fashion? It is okay to not have everything figured out by some arbitrary deadline. Remember, it is the journey, not the destination we are after. The more thought and soul we breathe into the process, the more meaning they will have for years to come.  Happy holidays!

Sona is stress coach & certified stress mastery educator. Her own burnout led her to learning more about her own stress and its roots, and how to diffuse it. In her workshops, public speaking and individual sessions, she empowers other career women to change the conversation about their own stress. You can find Sona at: https://www.stresscoachsona.com/

 

 

 

I'd like to wrap this post up by saying

I hope you enjoyed each of these short posts about holidays and how they can bring meaning to our lives and the lives of others.

If you are unclear of what, why and how your family and friends celebrate, be sure to take the time to ask.  It’s a great way to get to know others better.  If they can’t answer, perhaps it could be a fun research project to discover the meaning behind those ornaments, food and traditions.

All of us, whether we stay in our home communities or move to another place, will be confronted with change, differences, and a variety of disruptions to our patterns and way of life. As adults, we may choose to carry out the traditions of our ancestors on these holidays, especially if the traditions of our childhood continue to bring comfort and joy.  However, sometimes we choose change, or change choses us, and we must navigate life differently.

As Supyria, Rhonda and Sona have done, do take the time to reflect and choose to engage in activities that bring meaning and joy to your heart.  Drop the ones that do not. Allow this season fill you with joy and recharge your spirit, so that you enter 2023 fully rested and full of hope and joy for the future.

I’m Betty and I research, write, and speak on family and community history, genealogy, diasporas, socio-economics, land use, and how intended and unintended policy decisions may impact your life and business. You can find me here at: https://www.willowriv.com/

Happy Holidays!