St. Patrick's Day and Chaharshanbe Suri

St. Patrick's Day is an Irish holiday that falls on March 17 each year. In Ireland it's celebrated with parades, community feasts, singing, dancing, and church services, all in honor of St. Patrick, an English man who lived in about 400 A.D.

Pat’s whole name was Magnus Sucatus Patricus. When he was 16, Irish raiders carried him off from England to Ireland to work as a slave. He escaped six years later, traveled and studied for many years, and became a Christian missionary. He returned to Ireland, and grew famous for all the miracles he performed and for converting many Irish people to Christianity.

Chaharshanbe Suri, the Festival of Fire, is part of the ten day Zoroastrian festival, Farvardegan, which concludes with Nowruz, the Persian New Year, on March 21. On this last Tuesday evening of the year, Iranians jump over bonfires.

Agenda:

1. Read the Sweet Spot

2. Family and community brainstorm

3. Synergy and hope plans

4. Prayer of St. Patrick

5. Plant peas and my straw doll

6. Enjoy hot Irish coffee

7. Make Ajeel

8. Build a fire and JUMP!

1. Read "The Sweet Spot":

I'm continuing this book by Christine Carter (2015), about "How to Find Your Groove". The thesis is that when we hit from our sweet spot we have optimum power and the greatest ease. Part 4 is Cultivate Relationships, and Chapter 7 is Mending Ruptures, about the day-to-day relationship rifts that cause strain: Tiny things we do that put space between us and our loved ones. "Tiny un-repaired ruptures in our relationships drive love and connection out of our lives."

She lists a bunch of "Connection Diseases" like being distracted, busy, disappointed, bored, annoyed, and having unresolved conflicts - that indicate some friction or fray in our connections. This chapter is all about how to repair these day-to-day rifts.

Today I read about boredom, and the antidote - to shake things up, to stoke interest in our relationships. She lists a few ways to do this:

1. Be vulnerable by opening up emotionally; discuss deep questions.
2. Go on an adventure together - invoke an adrenaline rush.
3. Practice a variety habit - plan in times to try something new.
4. Think up little surprises, like a surprise date.

2. Family and community brainstorm:

Tuesday is my day to look at my social and emotional self and make an effort to shift my perspectives around how I view and treat the people in my life. Today I will list a few things to work on this next month:

• Surgery preparation, discussion, and support.
• Continue to explore PDA and how to use declarative sentences.
• Family game nights at a park.
• Schedule individual time with Moon Friends, and perhaps an in-person Moon Gathering?
• Plan a social event for EC Group! 

3. Synergy and hope plans:

Every Tuesday I make a plan for teamwork and synergy, important components for effective action. Specifically, I make a list of tiny ways to engage my family and community in my Nature-Culture work. My ideas:

1. Signs of spring walks with grandsons + plastic waste pick-up
2. Cleansing ceremony with family or community in the rain
3. Send out my Watershed poster and ad
4. Plan an Earth Week contemplative / action practice

4. Prayer of St. Patrick:

The word "Christ" in this prayer means the Chosen One; I believe we are all chosen ones, with "that of God" within - that was Jesus' message to us.

Christ, shield me this day:
Christ with me,
Christ before me,
Christ behind me,
Christ in me,
Christ beneath me,
Christ above me,
Christ on my right,
Christ on my left,
Christ when I lie down,
Christ when I arise,
Christ in the heart of every person who thinks of me,
Christ in the eye that sees me,
Christ in the ear that hears me.

It's very powerful to ask to be surrounded and protected by a world and people filled with the love of God, and feel the Spirit of Love within and all around me.

5. Plant peas and my straw doll:

In Ireland, St. Patrick’s Day is the traditional day to plant peas and potatoes (or so some people say), so today I will planted my second row of peas, and also my straw harvest doll.

The custom in Europe was to make a straw figure out of the last sheaf of wheat that was harvested, so the spirit of the grain had a place to live through the winter. Then it was planted again in the spring.

I make a corn or straw doll each fall. (For how to make this simple straw doll see this post on the autumn equinox.) Today I will return her to the earth, and with luck the grain in her hair will sprout into a sheaf of wheat to harvest again in the fall!

6. Enjoy hot Irish coffee:
Ingredients:

• 1 c. freshly brewed strong black coffee 
• 1 jigger (1-1/2 oz.) of Irish whiskey 
• 1 tsp. to 1 Tbsp. brown sugar 
• heavy cream (not whipped)

Yield: 1 serving-
1- Warm a mug with hot water and then empty it. Pour piping hot coffee into warmed glass until it is about 3/4 full.

2- Add the brown sugar and stir until completely dissolved. (The sugar is essential for floating the unwhipped cream on top.) Blend in the Irish whiskey.

3- Shake the heavy cream a little, then pour it carefully over the back of a spoon, held just above the surface of the coffee. The layer of cream should float on the coffee without mixing. Serve hot, and drink the coffee through the layer of cream.

7. Make Ajeel:

Tonight children in Iran visit their neighbor's houses in disguise, usually something like a veil covering their entire body. Each kid carries an empty metal bowl and a metal spoon. At the door, they bang the spoons on the bowls and on the door. The neighbor places a treat in each visitor's bowl, usually ajeel. The kids try to remain silent and anonymous throughout the process.

Ajeel is a Persian mixture of dried fruits with roasted nuts and seeds, similar to trail mix. Eating it tonight makes wishes come true! There is no one recipe- you just make it as you like it. Use the list below as a starting place, and add or subtract as you wish.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. shelled pistachios
• 1/2 c. roasted almonds
• 1/2 c. roasted cashews
• 1/4 c. roasted chickpeas
• 1/4 c. black or golden raisins
• 1/4 c. dried mulberries
• 1/4 c. dried apricots
• 1/4 c. dried cranberries

In a bowl mix together all the fruit and nuts.

8. Build a fire and JUMP!
Chaharshanbe means red or scarlet, for fire; tonight- the last Tuesday of the year, neighbors in Iran gather to build bonfires. Everyone leaps over the fire, to burn away the bad luck of the old year, and create good luck for the new year.