Seasonal celebrations

There have been lots of posts floating around Bloggertown of late, describing autumnal rituals, activities and delights, like pumpkin picking, crunching leaves under the feet on a Sunday walk in the park, making hearty warming soups on a cold day or curling up by the fire wearing woolly socks. This autumn has been a nice one so far. After a disappointing summer (understatement!), October has exceeded expectations for me, giving us crisp, colder-than-average days, warmed with blazing sunshine against cornflower-blue skies. The trees have seemed to be even lovelier than usual too, with leaves in bright reds and oranges, mustard yellows and deep greens, sometimes all on the same tree. Perhaps the sunshine has highlighted the different hues to a greater degree, drawing my attention to their various complementary tones.

It may just be my perception, but it seems that in the US there are more distinct traditions for marking the seasons or holidays. It's a shame that here in the UK, there doesn't seem to be quite the same calendar of events, at least to the same degree. There is something rather lovely about observing the change in seasons, or any other positive landmarks, with rituals and traditions and fun things. It's a shame that some of these events have been hijacked by the world of marketing and commercialism, so that one feels compelled to ignore the event completely, rather than associate with the shallow and materialistic 'celebrations' they have become.

Birthdays are a great celebration of life and age, and anniversaries also bring the opportunity to reflect on the past with thanksgiving. In a world and a time full of so much discontent and fragility, shouldn't we take as many opportunities as we can to celebrate and be thankful? Whilst I am no fan of commercialised occasions that encourage us to spend money without meaning, I love the idea of family traditions, created to signpost special days, times, occasions and events. Families often spend so much time together that they can take it for granted and forget to cherish the special moments that make great memories. At the other extreme, families can spend so little time together that they often need big events in order to come together at all. While this may occur for joyous occasions, like a wedding, or at Christmas, there is the danger that it only happens during times of tragedy, like funerals.

I remember when I was a child, there was a particular residential road near my house that was lined on both sides with trees. It was a lovely, winding road, with pretty houses on either side and in the spring, the trees would flower with spectacular blossoms, in various shades of pink, peach and yellow. We would rarely drive down that road, because it wasn't really on a direct route to our house. But on a Sabbath after church, when all four of us were together and on our way home, if the weather was nice, we would take a mini detour especially to drive down that road, so we could appreciate the beauty of the blossoms. It was a tiny little ritual, one that wasn't even consciously carried out as a ritual, but it was a small event that we remembered as a family, which somehow marked the season of spring and the soon-coming of summer. We still remember it even now, and although it is an even rarer occurrence these days to drive down that street, if we're ever in the area during springtime, it's a detour we still love to take.

Perhaps the unpredictability and instability of English weather prevents these traditions, hindering our ability to plan such events because we can't rely on the certainty of the seasons. In early December last year, something had happened and I remember my Boy commenting that it was even more special because it coincided with the 'first snow of the year'. I guess in New York, where winter snow is pretty much guaranteed, or at least a high possibility, this is a regular occurrence. In London, we are lucky to get any snow, particularly snow when it is cold enough that it that actually settles. We can't plan to make our first snowman of the season, or go out to collect firewood or any of those adorable little outings that I may have picked up from schmaltzy American films.

It seems that so many of our cultural quirks and traditions are dying out and being lost forever, which I think is rather sad. Some things should be remembered or marked in some way, however small, but I don't believe that we should all become obsessively ritualistic about this. There is always a danger that when we start the regular observance of an event with the use of a particular custom, it becomes a tradition that morphs into the observance of the act itself, losing all its original meaning. However, I love the small practices that signpost our little milestones throughout life. We all need something to break up the passage of time. These things don't have to be cultural or nationwide events. The erratic nature of our seasons could work in our favour, encouraging us to be more spontaneous. Why can't we create our own special ways of acknowledging the positive events in life, however insignificant they may seem to others? I've decided that I'm going to start creating my own mini celebrations, even if they are only celebrations-for-one to begin with. Maybe I'll be able to get my family and friends to join me in a few. One day I may even have my own little family that I can create more new traditions for and with. Why not start your own, too?