Chinese New Year's Eve and New Holiday Moon

Tonight is Chinese New Year's Eve. In China, New Year's evening is called Ch’u-yeh, the "evening of discarding", because we can finally be done with the old year, and with winter.

This last day of the year is busy for Chinese families, because it’s the last chance to complete preparations and be ready to start the year fresh. When the running around is done, the family spends the rest of the day at home together -- family connections are the big theme for this holiday.

Agenda:

1. Thanksgiving ceremony

2. Welcoming ceremony

3. Have a family feast

New Moon retreat day

The New Holiday Moon is tomorrow, but I'm sliding into a new moon perspective early, because I've got more time for contemplation today.

The new moon is the start of the lunar cycle, a time of high energy and clear thinking. Historically, the new moon is when women took time to be alone; it's a time to retreat and set intentions for the next phase of my year.

Agenda:

1. Retreat Day
2. Choose a month theme
3. Choose goals and set intentions
4. New moon altar and meditation

Prepare for the New Moon

January is winding down and so is the lunar month. The next new moon, on Monday, is the Holiday Moon - the eve of the Chinese New Year.

I try to clear one day a month for this preparation work, and today's the day!

Agenda:

1. Evaluation House

2. Monthly journal brainstorm

3. Surrender, rest, recuperate

Little New Year and Third Quarter Moon

Kitchen God I drew a few years ago.

Today is called Little New Year - it falls on the day of the waning half moon in late January or early February - one week before Chinese New Year, on February 1st this year. I enjoy having this second opportunity to celebrate a new year, and think of this one as the "Happy and Lucky" celebration.

Little New Year is also known as the Kitchen God Festival because this is the day that the Kitchen God, Tsao-wang, and his wife, Wang Bo-jia, leave to report to heaven. In a Chinese home, a picture of these two gods, printed or drawn on rice paper, hangs in a niche just above the stove.

Today's waning moon energy is yin - quiet, internal, heart-driven, intentional Being-ness. At this phase we can ease off a bit on actively pursuing goals, slow down, go within, and attend to inner work and self-care.

 

Agenda today:
1. Renewal plan and self-care plan
2. Housework

3. Nian-hua and good-luck calligraphy

4. Forced Blossoms
5. Make Jiao-zi dumplings 

6. Kitchen God Good-bye Ceremony

Babinden

The Slavic holiday Babinden (bah-bean-den) happens each year on January 21. Baba is "grandmother", and the in is possessive; den is "day", so the meaning is "Grandmother’s Day". It’s also called Midwives Day.

Babinden is an ancient festival, still celebrated in Bulgaria, to give thanks and show respect to the women (or men) who have helped in the child-birthing process, and for all the other skills and knowledge the grandmothers have: Growing food, cooking, herb lore, looking after their grandchildren, and teaching folklore and traditions.

The roots of this festival, however, are in fertility rites. In Bulgaria, a house full of healthy and beautiful children is a basic value, and this is the underlying focus of the rituals on Babinden. Fertility is an essential theme of nature, and today I celebrate the place my grandson has in the great, burgeoning, hope-filled circle of abundance, and my role as one of his care-givers.

Agenda today:
1. Journal queries
2. Hand-washing ceremony

3. Prayer for grandmothers

4. Art with a toddler
5. House blessing

Love Awareness

My overall theme for this year is Awareness, and my theme for this moon cycle is Stillness and Learning. Since the start of the new year I've also been loosely rotating through daily themes for my writing, reading and actions: Truth, Sanctuary, Earth, Love, Health, Creation, and Celebration.

Today is my Love Day, when I will read and write about love and the habits of love.

Agenda:

1. Read "How to Love"

2. Start a Love Journal for 2022

3. 5-minute love meditation

4. Choose a self-cultivation project

5. Practice Virtue Habits

House of Belief

Today I'm giving extra attention to my house and garden. I want this to be the year that I complete a cycle of care that starts like this:

• 
  January: Clean mold, paint the windows, plan and tidy the garden.
• February: Clear excess stuff from each room, start seeds and prepare beds.
• March: Spring cleaning, wash windows, early planting

And I also want to better express our family ideas and beliefs in my house and garden, with creativity and thoughtfulness.

Agenda:

1. House of Belief plan

2. Sanctuary intentions

3. Spirit of Winter meditation

4. House cleaning in the bathroom

Full Wolf Moon and Martin Luther King Jr. Day

Photo by Alan Gillespie

The Full moon of January is called atalka - the "Stay Inside Moon" - by the Kalapuya of my area, and the Wolf Moon by others, because of the hungry packs of wolves that used to roam for prey at this time of deep winter. The full Wolf Moon is a good time to ponder what I am hungry for, and how to be resilient.

We are now at the peak of the strong-energy yang phase of the waxing moon, and will soon begin the quiet-energy yin time of the waning moon. The full moon shines her light on everything; use the full moon energy for creatively completing things, and for seeing your next moves, and also to CELEBRATE how far you've come and give thanks for the lessons learned and the blessings received.

And today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day - Today I am reminded again to honor the ongoing struggle for freedom, equality, and dignity for all people, and share in the efforts.

Agenda for today:

1. Equality and Service intentions

2. Vision walk

3. Full moon sharing

4. Celebrate stillness

5. Mountain pose meditation

6. Study

7. Freedom Ribbon project

8. Index to MLK Day projects

Tu B’Shevat

Tu B’Shevat (too b’sch VAHT), the Jewish New Year for Trees, begins tonight at sunset, the evening before the full moon. This is the season in Israel when the earliest-blooming trees start a new fruit-bearing cycle. In contemporary Israel it’s celebrated with tree planting ceremonies and a focus on ecological awareness, and a seder (ceremonial meal) of tree fruits.

Agenda: 
1. Tree of Life visualization
2. Plant a tree

3. Sort seeds

4. Intentions for simplicity and climate justice
5. Share a seder meal

6. Farewell wassailing

Surya Pongal

The second day of Pongal is Surya Pongal, named for the sun god, Lord Surya. Light is growing now with both the sun and the moon, as the moon moves towards full. Today I give attention to my blessings, and my vision for the future.

Agenda:

1. Make Pongal Paanai (Sweet Rice)

2. Recite the Surya Mantra

3. Write a mission haiku

4. Creative visualization

5. Living room blessing

Pongal

Pongal is a four day harvest festival celebrated in India, beginning on January 13th or 14th. The word Pongal means “overflowing and abundance”. It's celebrated as a shift in the season - the end of winter - the day on which the sun begins to move northwards

Pongal might have originally been a solstice celebration, but I appreciate this extra reminder of the returning light: The sun is a symbol of wisdom, divine knowledge and spiritual light, and now it is turning towards us and blessing us with life and energy.

Each day of Pongal has a slightly different focus and theme: 

Today is called Bhogi Pongal, which means "enjoy abundance"; it's a day to honor the rain god, Indra, for providing rain for the harvest. Today farmers anoint their plows and sickles with sandalwood paste to bless them, then bring in the fresh harvest of rice and sugar cane.

 

The second day is called Surya Pongal, named for the sun god, Lord Surya. On this day people cook sweet rice at sunrise, and watch for the rice to bubble out of the clay pot. The boiling over symbolizes good luck and prosperity for the family.

 

The third day is Mattu Pongal, focusing on the cattle who pull the plows. (Mattu means "cow".) The cows are cleaned, decorated and fed treats.

 

The fourth day is Kanum Pongal. Kanum means "to view": It's a day to visit friends and family.

Agenda for Pongal:

1. House clearing
2. Have a fire ceremony
3. Make a rangoli

Plow Monday

Plow Monday, the first Monday after Epiphany, is the traditional day in Europe for men to restart their farm work. 

Our garden isn't large, but I think of it as my miniature farm. Normally, it's too wet at this time in the Pacific Northwest to do any digging, but many other tasks are possible, and it's good motivation for me to have this set date each year to start my “farm work”.

Agenda for today & this week: 

1. Journal query

2. Tool blessing ceremony

3. Collect scions

4. Housework - cleaning the living room

5. Daily garden visits

6. Make plough pudding

First Quarter Moon

Photo by Alan Gillespie

At the First Quarter Moon we are one-quarter of the way through the moon cycle. The moon is waxing - growing in light and energy, creating a time for decisive action. Kiki Ely, in her book Living Lunerly, says, "A good way to remember this is by looking at the perfect line of shadow down the moon's center: this is the moment to draw a firm line, boundary, or decision in your life and stick to it."

Now is the time to use obstacles as fuel for growth and show full effort for priorities. It's time to decide how to add more light and liveliness to a dark month.

Agenda:
1. Journal queries

2. Awareness of the Light
2: Make a self-management plan for patience
3: Make a Full Effort Plan

Day of Retreat

Saturdays are usually my day of retreat, and on this second Saturday of the year I plan to re-connect with my self. And Awareness is my theme for the day.

Agenda: 

1. Retreat plan

2. 2022 Resolutions postcard

3. House of Belief

4. Kitchen blessing

5. Kitchen Blessing Prayer

Distaff Day

Woman with distaff in left hand, and spindle in right hand.

Distaff Day (January7) is named for the distaff, the stick-like tool that held fibers while a woman used a drop spindle to spin thread.

Spinning and weaving were never-ending chores for pre-industrial women; most women and girls would spin thread while also cooking, caring for children, or minding the sheep. Because women were seen always with a distaff in hand, it became the symbol of “women’s work”. 

But during the Christmas season women took a break from spinning. January 7th was the traditional day for women to start back to work, and so was called Distaff Day.

Agenda:
1. Journal queries and spindle meditation

2. Start a fiber project

3. Housework - clean the kitchen

Epiphany

January 6th is Epiphany, the final day of the Christmas season. This was the day when the three Magi arrived in Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus, and recognized that he would grow up to be a great helper of people.

Epiphany comes from the Greek epiphania, meaning manifestation, or moment of recognition. The Magi had an epiphany- a moment of recognition, when the truth became clear through something simple and striking.

Agenda for today:

1. Epiphany queries

2. Brainstorm a possible self cultivation project

5. Bake a King's cake

6. Make a crown

Twelfth Night

The evening of January 5th is called Twelfth Night, the Eve of the Epiphany, the night that the three Magi traveled to Bethlehem to see the newborn baby Jesus.

In Italy, the Befana (short for Epiphania) was busy sweeping her floor that night, when the Magi stopped at her house. They invited her to come along with them on their trip to see Jesus but she said she was too busy.

Later she changed her mind and decided to follow, but she couldn’t find them. She continues her search each year on Twelfth Night, flying on a broom, going from house to house and leaving gifts.

Agenda:

1. Journal queries

2. Sweeping

3. Make Focaccia della Befana

4. Leave gifts

Final Days of Christmas

We have two days of Christmas left! By now, most people are fed up with holidays and ready to get back to "normalcy" - but I'm holding on for my full 12-days-worth.

Agenda:

1. Christmas retreat

2. Health goals for 2022

3. Year of Awareness

4. Winter walking meditation

Kakizome Day and New Bitter Moon

The last new moon of the Chinese calendar rose this morning; The Chinese call this twelfth new moon the Bitter Moon, because it brings the bitter cold and unforgiving darkness. 

The new moon is the start of the lunar cycle, a time of high energy and clear thinking. Historically, the new moon is when women took time to be alone; it's a time to retreat, shine a light on your path, and set some intentions.

Since this is also the start of the year, I've got a jumble of thoughts, goals, plans, and vague ideas floating in my head. Today I will take some time to shine light on my path for January, and also for the year.

Today is also Kakizome Day; kakizome means "first writing". Today people all over Japan will take time to use a brush and sumi ink to write out a favorite quote or phrase - the first calligraphy of the new year. Kakizome is a way to express your positive wishes for the New Year. 

Agenda:

1. Discern a year theme

2. Christmas retreat

3. January journal brainstorm

4. January theme - Stillness 

5. Set goals and intentions

6. New moon altar and meditation

7. Practice my calligraphy

New Year's Day

Today is the first day of a new year in my part of the world. I celebrate many beginnings throughout my year, but January 1 has emotional importance because it’s the New Year of my childhood.

January gets its name from Janus, the two-faced Roman God of gates and doorways; it's a month to look back with reflection and forward with hope. I stand at the doorway of this coming year with my mind open and curious, without fear or judgment, and with hope for the gifts that the year will deliver.

As I stand here, I remember that not all gifts are rosy. I thank the Creator for the shadows and mysteries, and potent gifts of sadness. When I live in the reality of the moment more than in my hopes and expectations, I can receive the riches that are hidden within my most challenging experiences - the gifts of compassion, self-awareness, creativity, wisdom, patience, love, strength of character, and integrity.

Agenda for today:
1. Kwanzaa principles

2. Christmas retreat

3. Truth reading

4. Spiritual goals for 2022

5. Set the tone for the New Year
6. Eat Hoppin' John