How We Celebrate

Sunlight, that sweet smell of fall leaves full of crunch, the taste of perfect apples right off the tree - this was our Michaelmas. We went apple picking at a local orchard and picked so many apples that have slowly been turned into crisps, apple sauce, a pie (hiding out in the freezer until Thanksgiving), and school snacks.

Apples led to a brief exploration of a town we didn't know so well, eating one of those apple crisps and a blackberry crisp, all followed by a candle-lit retelling of my version of the story of St. Michael, featuring Daddy as the dragon and E. as the fearless, dragon-defeating saint.

Not long ago I was asked why we were choosing to celebrate these old holidays, these days that so few in our country know about or pay attention to. Why celebrate something that doesn't have a Hallmark card all ready for you to grab or designated section for that holiday that's set up months in advance? Well, that's why. For once, I said to them, it feels so good to celebrate something for the sake of celebrating it, to understand the meaning and to not be bogged down by the commercialism (you see, I'm getting in touch with my inner Charlie Brown).

In our crazy busy world that marks the most deeply entrenched traditions in our lives with department store holiday displays and wintery commercials in October, all along with the push to buy, buy, buy, it is such a relief to NOT. HAVE. TO. DO. ANYTHING. Do nothing, but be with one another and look deeply into ourselves and our family to see how closely the traditions and people of the past touch our lives.