Ceremony

Thanksgiving in America is celebrated in a variety of ways.  Some folks gather with family (people they love and some they don’t).  Others celebrate with chosen family and friends.  Some give thanks, others take the opportunity to shop like mad.  And some do all of it.  This year, it seems like we are being asked to shift who we spend the day with and how we spend our time.

Possibly this is an ideal time to consider how you invite Ceremony to your celebration?

I was recently gifted some information by a dear friend about a celebration that the Lenape —the people here in my area before we took the land, call The Gam‘Wing Ceremony.  A time to offer wanishi  (thanks).   They believed that every animal had a spirit, that they and everything in their world were interrelated, that the land was their ”Mother Earth,” —all a cornucopia that could never be owned and should never be abused.

It was a time when our ancestors sang about their visions and danced happy dances suggests one of the leaders in the community today.

When my friend shared what she knew with me I was struck by many things.  I’ll offer two highlights: 

It is an integrative ritual, held to mark the connection of men and women, hunt and crops, and Creator and creation as a world renewal ceremony of universal thanksgiving.  And it was a time to enjoy the bounty produced by land & water and to thank the gods & spirits and participate in nature’s renewal.

Integrative and renewal.  Inclusive and regenerative.  Harvesting and sowing new seeds.  Giving and Receiving.  

The ceremony itself lasted 12 days, and was quite detailed and specific in some of the ritual and activities they engaged in during this time.  I find it fascinating.

Thanksgiving has always held a bit of the sacred to me.  Knowing this bit of history of the land I now call home, I am excited to weave some of this wisdom and ceremony in to my own celebration.

I wonder if this year with all the rich opportunity to reflect on our lives, if you might be longing for more meaningful ceremony in your own life.

A SPECIAL NOTE OF THANKS.
I am grateful to those of you who read the things I write about. I receive comments usually via email, enjoy them and respond to all your comments that you post here. I adore writing, and I adore even more knowing that what I think about and share with ya’ll has some meaning for you, and that possibly your world is a teeny bit better because of it.

On this holiday I hope that you are able to find things that you are grateful for. Many things. ~Terrie