Rituals

I am listening to Eat Pray Love, a book by Elizabeth Gilbert, for the second time. I listened to it a few years ago, but I think I only made it through the Eat and Pray sections before having to return it to the library. It was mentioned to me a few times recently which I took as a sign that I needed to hear it again. As I listened this morning while running errands, trying to get everything done before the holiday, this passage struck me. It seemed particularly fitting given my plans for this eve.

"We do spiritual ceremonies as human beings in order to create a safe resting place for our most complicated feelings of joy or trauma, so that we don't have to haul those feelings around with us forever, weighing us down. We all need such places for ritual safekeeping. And I do believe if your culture or tradition doesn't have the specific ritual you are craving, then you are absolutely permitted to make up a ceremony of your own devising."

My friend Jen and I have taken rituals from many cultures and combined them to make our own that we now practice on New Year's Eve whether together or apart.

According to Chinese tradition, the entire house should be cleaned before New Year's Day. Therefore, I spent the entire afternoon cleaning. The floors are swept and mopped, dishes and clothes are put away, and my bedding is washed. I like the idea of welcoming the year with a clean house. It leaves lots of room and space for the new.

In Mexico, those who want to find love in the new year wear red underwear and those that want money wear yellow. I will be wearing red again this year. I have quite a collection of red undies.

Unitarians practice a burning bowl ritual. The ritual is a way of letting go of what no longer works for you. You write on paper, things, ideas and situations, that you no longer wish to have power in your life, that you want to release in the coming year, and symbolically "burn" the list and get rid of them. The second part of the ritual allows you to ask for what you wish to bring into your life to create a clean, fresh start of your hopes and desires in the new year.

Spanish tradition has it that for good luck in the New Year, and all year long, 12 uvas de la suerte (grapes of luck) have to be eaten at midnight on New Years Eve. My grapes are in the fridge and thanks to an idea I discovered earlier this week, this year they will be presented on skewers. Last New Year's Eve I brought grapes with me to the bar. I even provided extras for the bartender who happily participated in my ritual.

In the South, it is considered good luck to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Day because they are thought to symbolize wealth (they look like little coins). They also swell when they are cooked, which is another sign of prosperity. Eating greens is thought to bring good fortune because they resemble money. Tomorrow I am trying a recipe I found hanging on my aunt's fridge when I visited her last week. It is called Southern New Year's Day Soup. Among the ingredients...you guessed it, black eyed peas and your choice of greens.

With all of these rituals, 2009 is bound to be a year full of love, luck, & prosperity and I am ready for it to arrive.