I've just returned from a wonderful evening at Brigit's. There were many, many people there to celebrate the longest night of the year. We pulled logs around the house three times, singing and hooting and hollering to chase away any of the bad spirits who may still be hanging around at the end of the year. Then everyone got to chop the logs up and put all negative energy into the wood (which, coincidentally, can take it), and Scott built a marvelous gigantic fire on their lawn. Vera joked that he might need to organize another party in the spring to put down grass seed. We went inside and had the tastiest food imaginable! Everyone had put a lot of thought and care into the food they brought. Yumm-o!
Then the show started! We were visited by some budeli (Mummers) who wanted to know if we would buy their horse (who was made of a brother-sister team with blankets over them). At one point, an apple dropped from under Zinta's hair - a real horse-apple! After much hilarity, including Max getting a ride on the horse's back, they sold their horse for money, food, and an accordion. Luckily, after a while, the Rutini returned from wherever they had gone outside and Andris poured hot wax into cold water for us to tell our fortunes in the shapes the wax made.
Daiga and Zinta started playing their accordions and everyone did traditional Latvian dances in the middle of the living room floor. I started getting tired; it's been a very long and full week for me.
1 comment:
Vera and I were Latvian-winter-solstice virgins. And we were very
honored to be included and delighted to be part of an ancient
cultural ceremony. So much culture and spiritually rooted ceremony
seems to be disappearing these days, replaced with religion as Big
Business and Political Business.
But under an almost full moon, dragging logs around Scott and
Brigit's yard, logs invested with a full year's worth of negativity,
chanting an old but still living language was a rare treat. Then to
split those logs and burn them, well, as we all know there is nothing
quite so cathartic as splitting logs.
Preserving culture, honoring the longest night, as Scott said, is a
calling, sacred if you will. It is also tremendous fun. And the food:
as my father's father liked to say, "they put out a good feed."
The night was magic, the people were wonderful, the fire was powerful
and glowed for many hours.
Many blessings to you all in the New Year. And love.
Steve and Vera
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