It seemed fitting that my Women's Discussion group should gather around a bonfire to celebrate Summer Solstice. Research shows that people around the globe mark this annual event in the same way.
Solstice celebrations were a highlight of the pre-Christian calendar, and bonfires, maypole dances and courtship rituals linger on in many countries as holdovers from Europe's pagan past.
Our celebration started with a delicious potluck dinner: devilled eggs, maple cranberry sausages, focaccia buns, radishes from the garden, kale chips, broccoli salad, dates, cheese, lentil salad, homemade apple pie, rhubarb crumble...and, of course, a variety of wines.
We decided to modify ancient traditions by adding some new quirks. Solstice is also a time to purge and renew, so we held a gift exchange of items that were collecting dust in our homes...items that would eventually end up in thrift stores.
I selected the largest gift, neatly wrapped in recycled newspaper. To my delight I discovered a pair of inline skates that were almost my size!
With Diana's assistance I managed to squeeze my right foot into one of the rollerblades. It was quickly obvious that circulation to my toes would be cut off within minutes! Fortunately it was her turn to select a gift next and she stole the skates from my clutches!
After much switching and swapping and stealing (including the "scarf battle")we settled down around the bonfire with apple pie a la mode and chocolate martinis.
It was finally time to purge memories, to make room for new positive remembrances. We each wrote a short story about a past experience that we would like to erase. After sharing with the group the stories were thrown into the fire, rendered to ash and smoke!
It was the longest day of the year. Driving home at 11pm, the sky was still brightly lit to the west.
No comments:
Post a Comment