The Season is upon us by Suzanne Marriott
The Season is upon us, and we look forward to our annual Holiday party after our December meeting, where we will get together to exchange white elephant gifts, sing songs, eat and socialize. We honor the many ways we celebrate this season: Yule or Winter Solstice, Hanukah, Christmas, Buddhist Bodhi Day, Muharram or Al-Hijira (marking the Islamic New Year), Kwanza, and many others.
In most cohousing communities, each group also creates its own way of honoring the season together. For example, at Nevada City Cohousing they have an annual Advent Circle that usually takes place on the Common House terrace. According to Katie McCamant, “All the lights are turned off and everyone brings a candle stuck into an apple. One by one, people of all ages walk the spiral of pine boughs to the center candle, light their candles and then walk out, leaving the lighted candles somewhere along the spiral. When all the candles are lit, we leave again, in silence. It’s such a simple ritual, and yet so moving to share in the silence with my neighbors.” Soon all of our members will be together at Wolf Creek Lodge, and we look forward to creating our own winter ritual.
