"The longing for sweets is really a yearning for love or 'sweetness.' "
~ Marion Woodman
I thought of this quote a few days ago when I shared a family custom with a group of neighbors and friends with whom my husband and
I celebrated Christmas.
Every year, from the time I was a young child, back to my earliest memories, I have experienced a ritual that my Slovak grandparents brought to America from the "Old Country."
I understand that this ritual began in Poland during the 10th century and has continued in various forms in Lithuania as well as in Poland and Slovakia and in the homes
of Eastern European emigrants everywhere.
While the central part of this practice involves the breaking of "Oplatki" or Christmas Wafer, with each person saying a prayer, in my family honey was used as well. We each dipped a piece of the Communion-host-like wafer into the honey before saying our silent prayers and making wishes for the New Year.
Of course, honey plays a part in
practices in other regions, religions and ethnic groups.
Don't we all want to bring more sweetness and love into our personal lives, our families, our homes, our neighborhoods, the whole world?
We can. Each of us can. I plan to do my part, to do my best. Will you? Please do.
No matter how others are acting, let's choose to be kind and loving. Peace to all.
Amen,
Charlene
