Agenda today:
1. Read a Novena
2. Prayer journal queries
3. Say a prayer of thanksgiving and aspiration
4. Paint a plum tree calendar
5. Make lemon sun biscuits
6. Make candles
1. Read a novena:
Today is the fifth day of the Christmas Novena, a Catholic ritual of a prayer recited or sung during the nine days leading up to Christmas Day. I've been reading this Creation Novena from the Indian Catholic Matters site:
Creator God, we give thanks for water. We thank You for the rich depths of the seas, their unimaginable variety. We thank You for the rivers and lakes in our communities, for the sparkle of light that dances on their surface.
We thank You for all the ways that water sustains us. We give thanks for the clean water that we are blessed to drink. We give thanks for the moisture that rises from the seas to become the rain that waters our crops. We give thanks for the power of the waves that stay within their shores.
As we pollute and warm Your waters, give us foresight. Help us see the consequences of soiling Your waters and changing their ancient compositions.
Help us protect our children and grandchildren now, by taking even small steps to preserve the great gift of water.
We ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen.
2. Prayer journal queries:This week of advent my focus is the Guiding Light of God. I started a new prayer journal, which is a way I speak to my Inner Guide. This week I will spend a little longer each morning in quiet prayer. Today I will ask and answer these queries:
What is the Inner Darkness beginning to be revealed in the emerging light?
What spiritual gift do I long for?
What people in my life can I hold in the Light?
3. Say a prayer of thanksgiving and aspiration:
The Chinese celebration of the winter solstice is called Dong Zhi, meaning "Arrival Of Winter". The Chinese have a great feast on Dong Zhi. Everyone wears new clothes, and visits their families with gifts - which is exactly what my family will do tomorrow evening!
The Dong Zhi Festival is a time of hope, optimism, and thanksgiving for a successful harvest, the fertility of the land, and the reunion of the family. Many people offer incense on the morning of Dong Zhi, and prayers of thanksgiving to Heaven and Earth, the household gods, and to the spirits of the ancestors. People also pray for safety and prosperity in the coming year.
Buddhists have a very long prayer of aspiration for the solstice.
What spiritual gift do I long for?
What people in my life can I hold in the Light?
The Chinese celebration of the winter solstice is called Dong Zhi, meaning "Arrival Of Winter". The Chinese have a great feast on Dong Zhi. Everyone wears new clothes, and visits their families with gifts - which is exactly what my family will do tomorrow evening!
The Dong Zhi Festival is a time of hope, optimism, and thanksgiving for a successful harvest, the fertility of the land, and the reunion of the family. Many people offer incense on the morning of Dong Zhi, and prayers of thanksgiving to Heaven and Earth, the household gods, and to the spirits of the ancestors. People also pray for safety and prosperity in the coming year.
My prayer today: I offer my grateful thanks for life, my family and friends, this bountiful and beautiful planet, and for the people who are working daily to make the world a better, more loving place. May I grow to be ever more open to the Light of God; may I be rooted and grounded in Love, Peace, and Grace.
3. Paint a plum tree calendar:
Funny looking plum tree!
The feminine yin qualities of darkness and cold are most powerful at this time of year, but the solstice is the turning point, giving way gradually to the masculine yang of light and fire.
In China, the number nine is linked with winter because odd numbers are yang, and nine is the largest odd number. Nine represents infinity and extremes. Winter is divided into nine periods, each nine days long, totaling 81 days.
The Winter Solstice (tomorrow) is the beginning of the first nine-day period. The weather should improve a bit every nine-days, and at the end of the ninth period, spring comes!
Before the Winter Solstice, people in China sometimes paint a plum tree with 81 white flowers. The plum blossom symbolizes longevity, hope, courage, and the promise of spring.
Materials: - soft absorbent paper (rice paper or newsprint)
- bottle of black sumi ink
- a Chinese brush
- or use a black marker!
1. Experiment with the brush. Dip your brush into the ink. Hold the brush vertically, very gently.
2. Practice painting a tree and plum blossoms. To get fine lines, touch only the tip of the brush to the paper. Move your whole arm. Just paint the outline of the blossoms, and five dots in the center.
3. When you feel confident, paint a tree with 81 plum blossoms.
4. Hang the tree on the wall, and, starting tomorrow, color one flower red each day. At the end of nine-times-nine days, 81 red blossoms will welcome the spring!
4. Make lemon Sun biscuits:
Lemon Shrewsbury Biscuits have been popular British cookies for hundreds of years - probably not an original Saxon recipe, but a pretty old one. They aren't lemony enough for me so I'll probably make a lemon glaze.
Ingredients
3. Paint a plum tree calendar:
 |
| Funny looking plum tree! |
The feminine yin qualities of darkness and cold are most powerful at this time of year, but the solstice is the turning point, giving way gradually to the masculine yang of light and fire.
In China, the number nine is linked with winter because odd numbers are yang, and nine is the largest odd number. Nine represents infinity and extremes. Winter is divided into nine periods, each nine days long, totaling 81 days.
The Winter Solstice (tomorrow) is the beginning of the first nine-day period. The weather should improve a bit every nine-days, and at the end of the ninth period, spring comes!
Before the Winter Solstice, people in China sometimes paint a plum tree with 81 white flowers. The plum blossom symbolizes longevity, hope, courage, and the promise of spring.
Materials:
1. Experiment with the brush. Dip your brush into the ink. Hold the brush vertically, very gently.
2. Practice painting a tree and plum blossoms. To get fine lines, touch only the tip of the brush to the paper. Move your whole arm. Just paint the outline of the blossoms, and five dots in the center.
3. When you feel confident, paint a tree with 81 plum blossoms.
In China, the number nine is linked with winter because odd numbers are yang, and nine is the largest odd number. Nine represents infinity and extremes. Winter is divided into nine periods, each nine days long, totaling 81 days.
The Winter Solstice (tomorrow) is the beginning of the first nine-day period. The weather should improve a bit every nine-days, and at the end of the ninth period, spring comes!
Before the Winter Solstice, people in China sometimes paint a plum tree with 81 white flowers. The plum blossom symbolizes longevity, hope, courage, and the promise of spring.
Materials:
- soft absorbent paper (rice paper or newsprint)
- bottle of black sumi ink
- a Chinese brush
- or use a black marker!
1. Experiment with the brush. Dip your brush into the ink. Hold the brush vertically, very gently.2. Practice painting a tree and plum blossoms. To get fine lines, touch only the tip of the brush to the paper. Move your whole arm. Just paint the outline of the blossoms, and five dots in the center.
3. When you feel confident, paint a tree with 81 plum blossoms.
4. Hang the tree on the wall, and, starting tomorrow, color one flower red each day. At the end of nine-times-nine days, 81 red blossoms will welcome the spring!
4. Make lemon Sun biscuits:
Lemon Shrewsbury Biscuits have been popular British cookies for hundreds of years - probably not an original Saxon recipe, but a pretty old one. They aren't lemony enough for me so I'll probably make a lemon glaze.Ingredients
- 1/2 c. butter
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 c. plus 1/2-c. all-purpose flour
1. Let the butter warm to room temperature. Preheat the oven to 350°F, and line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. You will also need to find a chop stick and a comb, or a skewer to make the patterns.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and the lemon zest. Gradually add 1 cup of flour. Then slowly add as much of the ½ cup of flour , using just enough to make the pliable dough come together. You want a non-sticky, soft dough that can be rolled out. (I used all the flour and still had a sticky dough, so I added some more as I rolled them out.)
3. Prepare a sheet of parchment paper sprinkled with flour, and roll out half of the biscuit dough to ¼-inch thickness. Use a round cookie cutter or a glass to cut the dough into round biscuits.
4. Use the tip of a chopstick to make a small dot at the center of each circle, then a comb to create dotted lines radiating outward, like a sun. Transfer the cookies onto a prepared cookie sheet to about 1-inch apart, using a spatula.
5. Repeat with the other half of the dough, and the dough scraps.
6. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes until just beginning to turn golden brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
5. Make beeswax candles:
Fire is central to the symbolism of this season. Our ancestors lit fires to remind the sun to return, and we light candles to recreate those ancient winter fire ceremonies.I find it satisfying to make a supply of my own candles each year, to use and to give as gifts.
- 1/2 c. butter
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- zest of 1 lemon
- 1 c. plus 1/2-c. all-purpose flour
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks and the lemon zest. Gradually add 1 cup of flour. Then slowly add as much of the ½ cup of flour , using just enough to make the pliable dough come together. You want a non-sticky, soft dough that can be rolled out. (I used all the flour and still had a sticky dough, so I added some more as I rolled them out.)
5. Repeat with the other half of the dough, and the dough scraps.
6. Bake the cookies for about 10 minutes until just beginning to turn golden brown on the edges. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.
5. Make beeswax candles:
Fire is central to the symbolism of this season. Our ancestors lit fires to remind the sun to return, and we light candles to recreate those ancient winter fire ceremonies.I find it satisfying to make a supply of my own candles each year, to use and to give as gifts.
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