Notes

So why do we call it Easter? And what’s this about the paschal mystery or the paschal lamb. Why not the Easter lamb? Here is the link between those two words.

This Holiday Season things are going more smoothly and holiday product is better (so far, keep your fingers crossed for the rest of the season). I’m convinced that is because we have been able to hold onto employees who get better and better the longer they are here. We are able to keep them, in part because Alec is such a good manager. (Don’t tell him, but in my opinion he's a better manager.than I am). We also have a strong benefits package which helps.

Though the weather isn’t cooperating as it is too warm, we know that the winter holidays are here because of the long dark nights, the low angle of the sun when it deigns to appear, and our growing need to gather together. All over the northern hemisphere this is the time of year we try to outwit nature’s darkness by lighting bonfires, fireplaces and candles, stringing lights on trees and houses, and turning our attention to each other while we celebrate ancient rituals and memories. We give and receive presents, and begin forming resolutions for the New Year, and eat special foods..

Thanksgiving, of course, it's my favorite holiday! It's about Fall and Food and Harvest. All that hard work over the summer, all the miracle of seeds turning into plants turning into vegetables turning into seeds again. The portent of longer nights and shorter days sends us to a bountiful table, surrounded by friends and family. Thanksgiving signals that growth has ended with the harvest and that the earth is going to take a rest, even as our thoughts quicken anticipating the spring reawakening and our plans and dreams of next year's plantings. I am really moved by the markers and the cycles of the year echoing the markers and the cycles of life itself.