Today I'm going to have a vacation, so here's a couple of blog posts to keep you inspired :-D
The Holiday Prep Plan (Inspired By Halloween Ads That Come Far Too Early)
Inspired Holidays {Day 12}:: A Delicious Discussion of Fall Scents {DIY Cinnamon Stick Candles}
Cozy drinks for chilly days
BBC's Autumn Watch (Yes, it's still Spring Watch, because they'll start the Autumn Watch tomorrow... :-D)
Then I think Hubpages have quite a lot of interesting reading about Samhain, written by other witches and Pagans, and, of course, Pinterest. Lots of info and inspiration.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Sunday, October 27, 2013
31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 27: Surprise Box
Now, on Halloween, All Hallows Even or Samhain Eve, there is the tradition of trick-and-treating, and I don't think that's a bad tradition. But if you do, this is one suggestion that would make it more fun to stay at home and have a family time.
In that "Christmas Eve Surprise Box", there is a new set of sleepwear or lounge wear and comfy socks; a movie with a good message and some movie treats; books; hot chocolate mix and cups (for Samhain you can have caramel apple cider spices in the cone, or in a sachet.)
Now, in my box or bag there would also be some craft and art supplies, and stationery, and then some "stocking stuffers".
BTW; why isn't there any stocking stuffers or easter basket stuffers for Samhain?
Now, here is where my background comes forth very clearly. When I was a kid there was no candy. Except for big holidays and birthdays, and when we got visitors, who could bring some candy. To me anything sweet, like cake and ice cream is "candy". There were no desserts, no baked sweets like donuts and cookies available every day. There were no Sunday desserts nor Saturday candy, as is a habit now-a-days in Sweden and Finland. So to me the efforts to limit access to candy these days are a bit odd, especially if the person talking about that remembers fondly their own childhood adventures in Candy Land... But - this is the background I use to relate with. But - I am aware of the "curse of wellfare" we suffer today. We live in the land of plenty where anyone can get as much candy as they want, every day. Where people are fat only because they have an access to sweets, where people are so used to putting sugar in everything, that they would find sugarless products tasteless, even unpleasant. In Finland and Denmark we are raised with dark rye bread with no sugar, no molasses, no malt, no sweeteners of any kind. Today people are richer and eat sweeter, softer bread, and are also more fat and unhealthy.
Now, ranting done :-D
I am not too pleased with the material culture either.
In that article they are speaking of "token presentS"
"creative toyS, plush palS AND a hidden surprise..."
"some small, age appropriate toyS, a gag gift for boys and sweet and shiny trinket for girls"
"Trade the candy overload for tech-related gadgetS, bookS, gift cardS AND accessorieS"
So - trade the sugar overload to thing overload?
What would I put in the Samhain bag?
Something that tastes like Samhain, something that smells like Samhain, something that feels like Samhain to touch, something that sounds like Samhain and something that looks like Samhain.
Samhain ornament or decoration.
A book.
Something to wear, an accessory or a t-shirt, perhaps socks.
I liked this "double dutch theme". Put in the bag some activity and all the tools and materials needed to do it. Now, I don't like the popular culture themed basket ideas. I also don't like the idea of fake tools. Give the kids real tools. Real arts and crafts supplies. And stationery :-D
Saturday, October 26, 2013
31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 26: Family values
I was on Pinterest and stumbled over this: 5 Steps to Raising a Child Who Will Stay Christian
I wanted to comment, but my response is rather long, and I got the feeling that here we have a person who would shun me just because I'm not Christian, I'm not SAHM, nor a homeschooler, and because I don't have children. Maybe it's just my prejudice speaking, but I decided not to comment on her blog, but write a blog entry about it.
And it's relevant, as holidays are a big opportunity to "indoctrinate" your children to your faith and values. I still have a creche at Christmas, because my mother had one, and I loved putting it up, and always told the story when I did...
(My mother's Christianity and the way she made it a natural part of our home is a big influence on my spirituality. And because of that I believe we are BORN to have the faith we will have, if we were also raised to have the confidence and conviction to shape our religion to fit our beliefs. :-D That is something not many have.)
So, this is my response to her:
I am not Christian, but I can understand your concern. I want my children to grow up and keep my faith and stay with my God, just like most parents. I think every parents wishes the best for their children and spirituality, faith, relation with God, is a huge part of this. Even atheists wish their children to grow up and keep the way they believe.
Homeschooling is indeed a very good way to share your values, but there are people who choose not to stay in the faith of their upbringing after they become adults. Because it is not peer pressure that makes you choose to leave the faith of your parents. I hope you agree that having a strong faith and trust in God makes it easy to stand up against values that one doesn't share. We cannot and should not protect our children from alternative ways of seeing the world and relating to God, we should have made our reasons to why we believe the way we do so clear and self-evident, the child knows every other way is ... well... not wrong, precisely, but... not as good for him/her.
The same thing about going to church. I don't want to raise children to have all the outer elements of faith, I want the child to share my faith and values even when there is no support from outside. I want my child to reach inside him/herself and find God there, so that "church" is everywhere the child goes. I want the "church" to be inside his/her heart, not just a building or a room. I want the child to want to go to church because he/she hears God very clearly there, and because he/she wants to hear God.
Because one doesn't need to go to church to be a Christian. One can sleep in on Sundays and still be fine. Why is that?
You say it's because as an adult you're already on course. I say that's not true. Adults also try to figure out who they are, adults also need reminders of who God is, even we who are certain in their relationship with God. It's not going to the church that defines who you are and what is your personal relationship with God. It's the work you do alone to keep your relation with God, and the communication between you two alive, strong and well. It's the fifteen minutes of silent devotion time alone with just God. The morning prayer, the Bible study time, the time you consciously and deliberately focus on your relation with God. Because as we are human beings, we define things, understand things through our human experience, and relation with God, even though it's much more and much deeper than any relationship with anything or anyone else, it needs to be looked at as a relationship with another sentient, living, personal being. We tend to take God for granted, and even though God in many ways is one of the things that are for granted, it's not good for OUR psyche to treat God as something self-evident. We NEED TO WORK ON THE RELATIONSHIP TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP.
The same thing with "they knew so many kids who were "good", who didn't go to church, that they started to suspect that you didn't need to go to church to be good, and then church became superfluous".
What you are saying is that you don't go to church to prove you are Christian or to become "good". You go to church because it's nice, to meet others who believe the way you do, to discuss important issues, to hear God's word proclaimed and explained by others who share your values, to learn more about God - you don't want your children to go to church to be "good" or to be "Christian", but because they want to.
You ought to make it really attractive and interesting, almost like a Christmas, to make your Sundays holy and to go to church.
And one way of doing this is to learn from Christmas.
Wear special, nice clothes for Sundays. One thing I learned from Victorian girls' books was that most of the heroines enjoyed dressing in pretty dresses and getting their hair done and all that. Starched, clean and new apron was a biggie. Pretty hair bows was a biggie. A new, pink parasol was a biggie. Shiny shoes and comfortable, neat black stockings was a biggie. I remember how we made covers for our New Testament at school, and how fun it was to choose colors. (Now, if you want to know how to do that, here's a tutorial of felt notebook cover. We were 8, I think, and did it of felt and stitched it together with embroidery thread. I think mine was bright red and I used white thread... and the result looked like made by an 8-years-old :-D But it was fun and made me very proud and made reading the book more fun.)
Make Sundays family days, when you do things together and enjoy being a family. Talk with your children, and even more important, LISTEN to your children. Give them your undivided attention on Sundays. Talk about what was said at church. I always loved it when "big people" spoke to me and with me as if they were interested of me and my opinions and way of thinking... that didn't happen often, though, which made the few times it did happen very memorable. Most adults are so busy with "important stuff" so that they have no time nor patience to listen to children who might not be very evolved in thinking, nor have anything "new" or "worthwhile" to say. That's not the point here, either. The point is to let the children know they are important. The little "stupid", "worthless" human being is important. Not only to you, but to God.
Give them gifts on Sundays. It doesn't need to be anything big or fancy, just a pretty card with bible quote on, or let them have a Sunday Book. A Sunday Book is a bit like "December Daily" or "Project Life", but only about Sundays. It's supposed to be kind of an art journal or scrapbook, where the children may collect photos of themselves in Sunday Finery, or doing things they themselves consider "good" and "Sunday-worthy"; clippings, scraps, pictures cut from magazines and those "Sunday Cards" I mentioned above, their own drawings, songs and stories they think are relevant and make them think of "good" things. If they want to add things in their Sunday Book that are not "good" and "Sunday-worthy" to YOU, let them. Trust in God. There should be only positive thoughts associated with the Sunday Book - and Sundays. There should be no questioning, no judgment, no shame, no insecurity, no "this is not good enough... I can't do this..." thinking. This is also the reason why you may not help with the books, nor ask to see them, nor watch them even if the kid wants you to see it. Tell them that what is in that book is between them and God. That you gladly and willingly take part of any other art and crafts they do, but not this. The understanding that there is no-one judging the book, that no-one else but they - and God - sees it, that diminishes the self-criticism, and removes any inhibitions one might have, both conscious and subconscious. Give them a book they find beautiful, or use a binder where they can make the cover picture themselves. A binder might be better, because it's easy to remove pages and add pockets... though perhaps one shouldn't have the option of removing pages... to understand that what ever one creates is "good enough", that we are good enough, and that "done is better than perfect". They say that Arabic craftsmen intentionally add a "mistake" or fault in their work, to remember that only God creates perfection. (And also to keep hubris in check :-D)
I don't approve the idea of trying to controll and steer our kids' relationships with other people. I believe that all the people in our lives are there for a reason, and I trust more God's intentions with our lives than another human being's intentions, even when that another human being happens to be my mother or father. I noticed, when I was a child, that I spread my values and behavior standard around me. In my home the manners were important, and I never swore or used sloppy language - and when my peers were with me, they never swore either, or apologized immediately after a swearword. It's not only others who influence us, we influence others as well. Perhaps your child is meant to spread Christianity among non-Christian peers, friends, schoolmates?
Really, the only friends, who share their values and beliefs, your children NEED to "hold them accountable and grow in their faith" is their family and God.
In your article about helping your children make good friends, you mention being a child of a single mother, and refer to the wide spread idea among Christian families that there is something suspect in single parent families. You would have excluded me from the possible friends for your children, because I'm not Christian, and never was, and through that you would have let your prejudices keep your children away from a friend with good values, strong faith and nice behavior, and who would have been a very good friend, loyal and brave, ready to stand by and up for her friends. I wish you could be able to see behind the shallow shell of words we use to define our faith, and look into the core of things.
To my readers I would like to say this:
The values are instilled in us already at the age of 5.
The values we were taught before we were 5 are our values we keep our whole lives.
Religion is not a value. Values don't have religion. There are no "Christian values", or "Pagan values". There are just values. People who believe differently can still share values, and most of people born and raised in the same culture do. An Atheist can have the same values as a Christian. A Pagan can have "Good Christian values", better so than a Christian.
Also, considering my own choices, thinking and experience, to keep my children within my faith, I have to be able to admit being fallable and not knowing everything.
I have to present being Pagan as a positive thing, that I am Pagan because that way of believing, that lifestyle, that world view, that philosophy best resonates with what I know to be true inside. Not scare with hell fire and brimstone, not present the religion and living observant as a set of rigid rules and "no-nos".
Be the parent you want your children to believe God is. Be on their side against everyone, even the authorities in my religion and even against my husband. I have to put my children first in every situation, if I want them to know God does that.
Appeal ALSO to their "shallow", selfish, "bad" emotions and thinking. We all have that side, and most of us love Christmas best of all holidays, because of the gifts and beauty and good food. Come on, admit it! We love getting things. We love pleasures and comfort. We love satisfaction. There doesn't even need to be a need to get satisfied, the "needs" can be created, by creating a want and masking that as a need.
As I believe we are all just human, let's make this thing as attractive to the human side of us human, as we assume it should be to the spiritual side of us. This is where the traditions, pleasures and holidays come to play. It's not helping anyone to condemn the "bad" in them, or to try to appeal the goodness and kindness. That will only create shame and codependency, and neither is a good base for a good relationship with God just as little as it is with anyone. I mean, if I want my children to grow up believing in a loving and accepting God, a God I can speak to about ANYTHING, even the stupid, petty little problems I have, even the stupid things I have done, even the thoughts I consider being "bad", I have to be able to trust that my God won't condemn me, think less of me, but like a wise, good mother listens and sees to that I get the best help and advice I can, that I feel her strength in my life, that I can trust in that She loves me and cares about me and has my best interests in mind.
I wanted to comment, but my response is rather long, and I got the feeling that here we have a person who would shun me just because I'm not Christian, I'm not SAHM, nor a homeschooler, and because I don't have children. Maybe it's just my prejudice speaking, but I decided not to comment on her blog, but write a blog entry about it.
And it's relevant, as holidays are a big opportunity to "indoctrinate" your children to your faith and values. I still have a creche at Christmas, because my mother had one, and I loved putting it up, and always told the story when I did...
(My mother's Christianity and the way she made it a natural part of our home is a big influence on my spirituality. And because of that I believe we are BORN to have the faith we will have, if we were also raised to have the confidence and conviction to shape our religion to fit our beliefs. :-D That is something not many have.)
So, this is my response to her:
I am not Christian, but I can understand your concern. I want my children to grow up and keep my faith and stay with my God, just like most parents. I think every parents wishes the best for their children and spirituality, faith, relation with God, is a huge part of this. Even atheists wish their children to grow up and keep the way they believe.
Homeschooling is indeed a very good way to share your values, but there are people who choose not to stay in the faith of their upbringing after they become adults. Because it is not peer pressure that makes you choose to leave the faith of your parents. I hope you agree that having a strong faith and trust in God makes it easy to stand up against values that one doesn't share. We cannot and should not protect our children from alternative ways of seeing the world and relating to God, we should have made our reasons to why we believe the way we do so clear and self-evident, the child knows every other way is ... well... not wrong, precisely, but... not as good for him/her.
The same thing about going to church. I don't want to raise children to have all the outer elements of faith, I want the child to share my faith and values even when there is no support from outside. I want my child to reach inside him/herself and find God there, so that "church" is everywhere the child goes. I want the "church" to be inside his/her heart, not just a building or a room. I want the child to want to go to church because he/she hears God very clearly there, and because he/she wants to hear God.
Because one doesn't need to go to church to be a Christian. One can sleep in on Sundays and still be fine. Why is that?
You say it's because as an adult you're already on course. I say that's not true. Adults also try to figure out who they are, adults also need reminders of who God is, even we who are certain in their relationship with God. It's not going to the church that defines who you are and what is your personal relationship with God. It's the work you do alone to keep your relation with God, and the communication between you two alive, strong and well. It's the fifteen minutes of silent devotion time alone with just God. The morning prayer, the Bible study time, the time you consciously and deliberately focus on your relation with God. Because as we are human beings, we define things, understand things through our human experience, and relation with God, even though it's much more and much deeper than any relationship with anything or anyone else, it needs to be looked at as a relationship with another sentient, living, personal being. We tend to take God for granted, and even though God in many ways is one of the things that are for granted, it's not good for OUR psyche to treat God as something self-evident. We NEED TO WORK ON THE RELATIONSHIP TO UNDERSTAND THAT WE ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP.
The same thing with "they knew so many kids who were "good", who didn't go to church, that they started to suspect that you didn't need to go to church to be good, and then church became superfluous".
What you are saying is that you don't go to church to prove you are Christian or to become "good". You go to church because it's nice, to meet others who believe the way you do, to discuss important issues, to hear God's word proclaimed and explained by others who share your values, to learn more about God - you don't want your children to go to church to be "good" or to be "Christian", but because they want to.
You ought to make it really attractive and interesting, almost like a Christmas, to make your Sundays holy and to go to church.
And one way of doing this is to learn from Christmas.
Wear special, nice clothes for Sundays. One thing I learned from Victorian girls' books was that most of the heroines enjoyed dressing in pretty dresses and getting their hair done and all that. Starched, clean and new apron was a biggie. Pretty hair bows was a biggie. A new, pink parasol was a biggie. Shiny shoes and comfortable, neat black stockings was a biggie. I remember how we made covers for our New Testament at school, and how fun it was to choose colors. (Now, if you want to know how to do that, here's a tutorial of felt notebook cover. We were 8, I think, and did it of felt and stitched it together with embroidery thread. I think mine was bright red and I used white thread... and the result looked like made by an 8-years-old :-D But it was fun and made me very proud and made reading the book more fun.)
Make Sundays family days, when you do things together and enjoy being a family. Talk with your children, and even more important, LISTEN to your children. Give them your undivided attention on Sundays. Talk about what was said at church. I always loved it when "big people" spoke to me and with me as if they were interested of me and my opinions and way of thinking... that didn't happen often, though, which made the few times it did happen very memorable. Most adults are so busy with "important stuff" so that they have no time nor patience to listen to children who might not be very evolved in thinking, nor have anything "new" or "worthwhile" to say. That's not the point here, either. The point is to let the children know they are important. The little "stupid", "worthless" human being is important. Not only to you, but to God.
Give them gifts on Sundays. It doesn't need to be anything big or fancy, just a pretty card with bible quote on, or let them have a Sunday Book. A Sunday Book is a bit like "December Daily" or "Project Life", but only about Sundays. It's supposed to be kind of an art journal or scrapbook, where the children may collect photos of themselves in Sunday Finery, or doing things they themselves consider "good" and "Sunday-worthy"; clippings, scraps, pictures cut from magazines and those "Sunday Cards" I mentioned above, their own drawings, songs and stories they think are relevant and make them think of "good" things. If they want to add things in their Sunday Book that are not "good" and "Sunday-worthy" to YOU, let them. Trust in God. There should be only positive thoughts associated with the Sunday Book - and Sundays. There should be no questioning, no judgment, no shame, no insecurity, no "this is not good enough... I can't do this..." thinking. This is also the reason why you may not help with the books, nor ask to see them, nor watch them even if the kid wants you to see it. Tell them that what is in that book is between them and God. That you gladly and willingly take part of any other art and crafts they do, but not this. The understanding that there is no-one judging the book, that no-one else but they - and God - sees it, that diminishes the self-criticism, and removes any inhibitions one might have, both conscious and subconscious. Give them a book they find beautiful, or use a binder where they can make the cover picture themselves. A binder might be better, because it's easy to remove pages and add pockets... though perhaps one shouldn't have the option of removing pages... to understand that what ever one creates is "good enough", that we are good enough, and that "done is better than perfect". They say that Arabic craftsmen intentionally add a "mistake" or fault in their work, to remember that only God creates perfection. (And also to keep hubris in check :-D)
I don't approve the idea of trying to controll and steer our kids' relationships with other people. I believe that all the people in our lives are there for a reason, and I trust more God's intentions with our lives than another human being's intentions, even when that another human being happens to be my mother or father. I noticed, when I was a child, that I spread my values and behavior standard around me. In my home the manners were important, and I never swore or used sloppy language - and when my peers were with me, they never swore either, or apologized immediately after a swearword. It's not only others who influence us, we influence others as well. Perhaps your child is meant to spread Christianity among non-Christian peers, friends, schoolmates?
Really, the only friends, who share their values and beliefs, your children NEED to "hold them accountable and grow in their faith" is their family and God.
In your article about helping your children make good friends, you mention being a child of a single mother, and refer to the wide spread idea among Christian families that there is something suspect in single parent families. You would have excluded me from the possible friends for your children, because I'm not Christian, and never was, and through that you would have let your prejudices keep your children away from a friend with good values, strong faith and nice behavior, and who would have been a very good friend, loyal and brave, ready to stand by and up for her friends. I wish you could be able to see behind the shallow shell of words we use to define our faith, and look into the core of things.
To my readers I would like to say this:
The values are instilled in us already at the age of 5.
The values we were taught before we were 5 are our values we keep our whole lives.
Religion is not a value. Values don't have religion. There are no "Christian values", or "Pagan values". There are just values. People who believe differently can still share values, and most of people born and raised in the same culture do. An Atheist can have the same values as a Christian. A Pagan can have "Good Christian values", better so than a Christian.
Also, considering my own choices, thinking and experience, to keep my children within my faith, I have to be able to admit being fallable and not knowing everything.
I have to present being Pagan as a positive thing, that I am Pagan because that way of believing, that lifestyle, that world view, that philosophy best resonates with what I know to be true inside. Not scare with hell fire and brimstone, not present the religion and living observant as a set of rigid rules and "no-nos".
Be the parent you want your children to believe God is. Be on their side against everyone, even the authorities in my religion and even against my husband. I have to put my children first in every situation, if I want them to know God does that.
Appeal ALSO to their "shallow", selfish, "bad" emotions and thinking. We all have that side, and most of us love Christmas best of all holidays, because of the gifts and beauty and good food. Come on, admit it! We love getting things. We love pleasures and comfort. We love satisfaction. There doesn't even need to be a need to get satisfied, the "needs" can be created, by creating a want and masking that as a need.
As I believe we are all just human, let's make this thing as attractive to the human side of us human, as we assume it should be to the spiritual side of us. This is where the traditions, pleasures and holidays come to play. It's not helping anyone to condemn the "bad" in them, or to try to appeal the goodness and kindness. That will only create shame and codependency, and neither is a good base for a good relationship with God just as little as it is with anyone. I mean, if I want my children to grow up believing in a loving and accepting God, a God I can speak to about ANYTHING, even the stupid, petty little problems I have, even the stupid things I have done, even the thoughts I consider being "bad", I have to be able to trust that my God won't condemn me, think less of me, but like a wise, good mother listens and sees to that I get the best help and advice I can, that I feel her strength in my life, that I can trust in that She loves me and cares about me and has my best interests in mind.
Friday, October 25, 2013
31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 25: Touch
In my mind a good Holiday celebration appeals to and stimulates all
senses. The sensory experience of a feast is a huge part of creating
memories.
It is also the only way you can separate reality from movies and internet... those appeal only to eyes and ears. You can't feel the softness of a pretty afghan in a movie, you can't taste the delicious looking pie or smell the glorious flowers of a nice decorating photo on the Pinterest. You have to experience that in "real life".
This is very important and a big reason to why you should bother at least a bit and actually do SOMETHING to hallow the Sabbaths.
So, how to appeal and stimulate your sense of touch?
Touch can be manipulated through materials, weight, softness, and comfort. The first thing that comes to mind is blankets, but remember that we feel everything we touch. From door handles to cutlery, our clothes, the floor and everything we sit on... Try to create as much sensory experience and as good sensory experience you can.
Also, think back to your idea of Samhain. What tactile experience would you associate with those things? How could you express, for example, belonging to a family line through touch?
It could be, for example, to use some of the items that you have inherited, or if you haven't inherited anything, you could research the time of some of your ancestors, and try to recreate the life as they knew it, by getting antique items. Now, I am rather sensitive when it comes to that, so I can't go and get just any old thing, but I have items my ancestors have hold, even some they have made themselves, and I like to have them available at this time of the year.
It is also the only way you can separate reality from movies and internet... those appeal only to eyes and ears. You can't feel the softness of a pretty afghan in a movie, you can't taste the delicious looking pie or smell the glorious flowers of a nice decorating photo on the Pinterest. You have to experience that in "real life".
This is very important and a big reason to why you should bother at least a bit and actually do SOMETHING to hallow the Sabbaths.
So, how to appeal and stimulate your sense of touch?
Touch can be manipulated through materials, weight, softness, and comfort. The first thing that comes to mind is blankets, but remember that we feel everything we touch. From door handles to cutlery, our clothes, the floor and everything we sit on... Try to create as much sensory experience and as good sensory experience you can.
Also, think back to your idea of Samhain. What tactile experience would you associate with those things? How could you express, for example, belonging to a family line through touch?
It could be, for example, to use some of the items that you have inherited, or if you haven't inherited anything, you could research the time of some of your ancestors, and try to recreate the life as they knew it, by getting antique items. Now, I am rather sensitive when it comes to that, so I can't go and get just any old thing, but I have items my ancestors have hold, even some they have made themselves, and I like to have them available at this time of the year.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 24: Taste
In my mind a good Holiday celebration appeals to and stimulates all
senses. The sensory experience of a feast is a huge part of creating
memories.
It is also the only way you can separate reality from movies and internet... those appeal only to eyes and ears. You can't feel the softness of a pretty afghan in a movie, you can't taste the delicious looking pie or smell the glorious flowers of a nice decorating photo on the Pinterest. You have to experience that in "real life".
This is very important and a big reason to why you should bother at least a bit and actually do SOMETHING to hallow the Sabbaths.
So, how to appeal and stimulate your sense of taste?
By food, of course. Food, drinks, sweets and snacks. Everything that we put in our mouth we taste.
Taste is not quite as straight forward as the other senses. Taste is more of a holistic experience. We can influence our taste experience by our thoughts. We all know that if we expect to taste something awful, we are most likely to experience the taste as absolutely awful. It's like asking a child to "just taste it, if you don't like it, you don't need to eat it!", and the kid tastes a little tiny bit of something with his/her face wrinkled, already prepared to refuse the food, and immediately when his/her tongue touches the food starts gagging and spitting and expressing in every possible way how disgusting the thing was. Whereas the reaction could have been quite different, if the child had tasted the new thing either without knowing it was there, without any expectations, or among peers who liked the food.
Also, we know that the looks of the food, the smell of the food, the feeling of the food in mouth, the texture, how "slimy" or "chewy" the food is, if there are bits of bone, shots or some such in the food, the sound of eating the food, all that influences the taste experience.
"Atmosphere, colors, aroma, texture and taste impact the sensory appeal of meals. Sounds, sights, smells, feelings and palates make up a total dining experience. Each of the five senses plays an important part in the eating experience."
So - you should really take care of all these things when planning the Samhain menu.
If you haven't got already menu traditions for Samhain, build it on the menu traditions of your family. (If your family doesn't have a menu tradition, or you don't like it, or it doesn't fit your values or for what ever reason, build a new traditions build on other menu traditions, for example Thanksgiving dinner, Pesach Seder or some other such big family dinner.
I know that "disgusting foods" is part of the modern Western Halloween traditions, but I think it would be better for a Samhain dinner to try to make the food look and sound as delicious as possible.
Put a little extra effort on decorating the dishes.
Easiest way is to use edible marigolds (Calendula Officinalis) - use only petals. Marigolds are symbolic to Day of the Dead festivities and they are called "the poor man's saffron". The taste can vary, but these flowers have taste, and they also dye the food yellow, like saffron and turmeric.
Nasturtiums are also very pretty and right color.
You could also carve vegetables, especially carrots. It's relatively easy to carve flowers of carrots.
The easiest way is though to add some fresh herbs. A sprig of parsley makes miracles.
This pinecone appetizer looks interesting, too.
You can use a piping bag to pipe your mash into pretty forms (or make ghosts...)
It's easy to create a "spiderweb" on your starter soup - I like it better like that, off center.
You can serve the stew from a pumpkin
Some other tips, hints and ideas about food:
- serve pickles and condiment sauces. That's a really easy way to add flavor and color to your dinner, and everyone may adjust the meal to their specific taste.
- Don't forget to make all the meals special, from breakfast and lunch to dinner and movie snacks
- watch the smell of cooking - see that you don't burn anything, but that there's a lovely, appetizing smell of food in the air
- warm the plates for warm dishes, cool them for cold dishes. That enhances the eating experience.
- don't throw away your work on letting people eat by the television. Take some time to dine together, and sit down.
- set the table.
- you can have some nice, soft music in the background, if you want to.
Taste is linked to emotional states, and so it can alter mood and brand perception.
It is also the only way you can separate reality from movies and internet... those appeal only to eyes and ears. You can't feel the softness of a pretty afghan in a movie, you can't taste the delicious looking pie or smell the glorious flowers of a nice decorating photo on the Pinterest. You have to experience that in "real life".
This is very important and a big reason to why you should bother at least a bit and actually do SOMETHING to hallow the Sabbaths.
So, how to appeal and stimulate your sense of taste?
By food, of course. Food, drinks, sweets and snacks. Everything that we put in our mouth we taste.
Taste is not quite as straight forward as the other senses. Taste is more of a holistic experience. We can influence our taste experience by our thoughts. We all know that if we expect to taste something awful, we are most likely to experience the taste as absolutely awful. It's like asking a child to "just taste it, if you don't like it, you don't need to eat it!", and the kid tastes a little tiny bit of something with his/her face wrinkled, already prepared to refuse the food, and immediately when his/her tongue touches the food starts gagging and spitting and expressing in every possible way how disgusting the thing was. Whereas the reaction could have been quite different, if the child had tasted the new thing either without knowing it was there, without any expectations, or among peers who liked the food.
Also, we know that the looks of the food, the smell of the food, the feeling of the food in mouth, the texture, how "slimy" or "chewy" the food is, if there are bits of bone, shots or some such in the food, the sound of eating the food, all that influences the taste experience.
"Atmosphere, colors, aroma, texture and taste impact the sensory appeal of meals. Sounds, sights, smells, feelings and palates make up a total dining experience. Each of the five senses plays an important part in the eating experience."
So - you should really take care of all these things when planning the Samhain menu.
If you haven't got already menu traditions for Samhain, build it on the menu traditions of your family. (If your family doesn't have a menu tradition, or you don't like it, or it doesn't fit your values or for what ever reason, build a new traditions build on other menu traditions, for example Thanksgiving dinner, Pesach Seder or some other such big family dinner.
I know that "disgusting foods" is part of the modern Western Halloween traditions, but I think it would be better for a Samhain dinner to try to make the food look and sound as delicious as possible.
Put a little extra effort on decorating the dishes.
Easiest way is to use edible marigolds (Calendula Officinalis) - use only petals. Marigolds are symbolic to Day of the Dead festivities and they are called "the poor man's saffron". The taste can vary, but these flowers have taste, and they also dye the food yellow, like saffron and turmeric.
Nasturtiums are also very pretty and right color.
You could also carve vegetables, especially carrots. It's relatively easy to carve flowers of carrots.
The easiest way is though to add some fresh herbs. A sprig of parsley makes miracles.
No, not like this... this isn't easy :-D
But you don't need to bother this much :-D
This pinecone appetizer looks interesting, too.
You can use a piping bag to pipe your mash into pretty forms (or make ghosts...)
It's easy to create a "spiderweb" on your starter soup - I like it better like that, off center.
You can serve the stew from a pumpkin
Some other tips, hints and ideas about food:
- serve pickles and condiment sauces. That's a really easy way to add flavor and color to your dinner, and everyone may adjust the meal to their specific taste.
- Don't forget to make all the meals special, from breakfast and lunch to dinner and movie snacks
- watch the smell of cooking - see that you don't burn anything, but that there's a lovely, appetizing smell of food in the air
- warm the plates for warm dishes, cool them for cold dishes. That enhances the eating experience.
- don't throw away your work on letting people eat by the television. Take some time to dine together, and sit down.
- set the table.
- you can have some nice, soft music in the background, if you want to.
Taste is linked to emotional states, and so it can alter mood and brand perception.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 23: Smell
In my mind a good Holiday celebration appeals to and stimulates all
senses. The sensory experience of a feast is a huge part of creating
memories.
It is also the only way you can separate reality from movies and internet... those appeal only to eyes and ears. You can't feel the softness of a pretty afghan in a movie, you can't taste the delicious looking pie or smell the glorious flowers of a nice decorating photo on the Pinterest. You have to experience that in "real life".
This is very important and a big reason to why you should bother at least a bit and actually do SOMETHING to hallow the Sabbaths.
So, how to appeal and stimulate your sense of smell?
"Smell is the sense most linked to our emotional recollection. It can create instant connections between a brand and other memories. Neuromarketing studies show that 75% of emotions are triggered by smell. Smell is linked to pleasure and wellbeing, emotion and memory. We remember just 1% of what we touch, 2% of what we hear, 5% of what we see, 15% of what we taste and 35% of what we smell."
To me the smell of Samhain is obviously the pumpkin pie spices and gingerbread spices :-D
But also the smell of wet soil and dying leaves, the crisp frost in the wind, the smell of cold water by the lake... The hint of snow...
Other people think about caramel apples; pumpkin and other root vegetables (not that they have much scent); butter and brown sugar, maple sugar; acorns, almond and nuts; woody scents; smoke... naturally the traditional foods one prepares for Samhain.
Here's some "Halloween Scents"
Most Samhain insences are tree based.
Bay leaves - leaves of several laurels and myrtles.
Resin of benzoin tree
Oil of camphor laurel
Cedar, cypress, pine, sandalwood
Copal and Amber are both tree resins.
Eucalyptus leaves
Frankincense or olibanum, resin from Boswellia trees.
Myrrh is also a resin. These trees one gets insence are called "frankincense and myrrh trees" or "incense trees".
Mastic is a resin obtained from the mastic tree.
Ylang-Ylang is an aromatic oil from the cananga tree's flowers.
Frankly, I would add Juniper to the list.
Artemisia family (mugwort, sagewort, wormwood and tarragon) might be associated with Samhain because of their magical qualities, their association with Artemis or because of their bitter scent with wood-y character. Or because they have sort of wood-y stalks.
Heather is a plant that typically flowers late autumn (and has a wood-like stem)
Lavender is to me typical "old lady scent" (and also has a bit of wood-like stem.)
Yarrow, a wood-y stalked plant used in divination.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice and/or cloves are pumpkin pie and gingerbread spices. In the German gingerbread spice, Lebkuchengewürz, there's also coriander, cardamon and mace, sometimes even aniseed and black pepper, and sometimes citrus scents, orange, lemon, bitter orange (pomerange) and bergamot, but I don't associate citrus to Samhain and autumn, as they get ripe in time to Yule and Imbolc, and also as they are - to me - symbols of sun and summer.
Cinnamon, nutmeg and mace, cloves, allspice and black pepper, are all spices that we get from trees.
It is also the only way you can separate reality from movies and internet... those appeal only to eyes and ears. You can't feel the softness of a pretty afghan in a movie, you can't taste the delicious looking pie or smell the glorious flowers of a nice decorating photo on the Pinterest. You have to experience that in "real life".
This is very important and a big reason to why you should bother at least a bit and actually do SOMETHING to hallow the Sabbaths.
So, how to appeal and stimulate your sense of smell?
"Smell is the sense most linked to our emotional recollection. It can create instant connections between a brand and other memories. Neuromarketing studies show that 75% of emotions are triggered by smell. Smell is linked to pleasure and wellbeing, emotion and memory. We remember just 1% of what we touch, 2% of what we hear, 5% of what we see, 15% of what we taste and 35% of what we smell."
To me the smell of Samhain is obviously the pumpkin pie spices and gingerbread spices :-D
But also the smell of wet soil and dying leaves, the crisp frost in the wind, the smell of cold water by the lake... The hint of snow...
Other people think about caramel apples; pumpkin and other root vegetables (not that they have much scent); butter and brown sugar, maple sugar; acorns, almond and nuts; woody scents; smoke... naturally the traditional foods one prepares for Samhain.
Here's some "Halloween Scents"
Most Samhain insences are tree based.
Bay leaves - leaves of several laurels and myrtles.
Resin of benzoin tree
Oil of camphor laurel
Cedar, cypress, pine, sandalwood
Copal and Amber are both tree resins.
Eucalyptus leaves
Frankincense or olibanum, resin from Boswellia trees.
Myrrh is also a resin. These trees one gets insence are called "frankincense and myrrh trees" or "incense trees".
Mastic is a resin obtained from the mastic tree.
Ylang-Ylang is an aromatic oil from the cananga tree's flowers.
Frankly, I would add Juniper to the list.
Artemisia family (mugwort, sagewort, wormwood and tarragon) might be associated with Samhain because of their magical qualities, their association with Artemis or because of their bitter scent with wood-y character. Or because they have sort of wood-y stalks.
Heather is a plant that typically flowers late autumn (and has a wood-like stem)
Lavender is to me typical "old lady scent" (and also has a bit of wood-like stem.)
Yarrow, a wood-y stalked plant used in divination.
Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and allspice and/or cloves are pumpkin pie and gingerbread spices. In the German gingerbread spice, Lebkuchengewürz, there's also coriander, cardamon and mace, sometimes even aniseed and black pepper, and sometimes citrus scents, orange, lemon, bitter orange (pomerange) and bergamot, but I don't associate citrus to Samhain and autumn, as they get ripe in time to Yule and Imbolc, and also as they are - to me - symbols of sun and summer.
Cinnamon, nutmeg and mace, cloves, allspice and black pepper, are all spices that we get from trees.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
31 Days of Inspired Holidays: day 22: Sound
In my mind a good Holiday celebration appeals to and stimulates all
senses. The sensory experience of a feast is a huge part of creating
memories.
It is also the only way you can separate reality from movies and internet... those appeal only to eyes and ears. You can't feel the softness of a pretty afghan in a movie, you can't taste the delicious looking pie or smell the glorious flowers of a nice decorating photo on the Pinterest. You have to experience that in "real life".
This is very important and a big reason to why you should bother at least a bit and actually do SOMETHING to hallow the Sabbaths.
So, how to appeal and stimulate your sense of sound? And what are the sounds of Samhain?
Sound is very important part of evoking emotions to influence experiences. In movies, sound is even more important than the visual impact. It's the film music and sound effects that color the scenes and make us feel what the film maker wants us to feel. The same scenes change mood by the sounds. If one plays melancholy music behind a love scene, we think it's the last time they see each other. If the music is scary, we are expecting to find out there's something fishy going on. Perhaps one of them is about to kill the other? If the music is epic, magnificent, symphonic, we read great passion in the relationship. If the music is cute and sweet, we smile...
I think it's interesting that I haven't found anything written about this specific subject. All holiday decoration and preparation out there on-line is very much about the classic details, more or less modernized, but not about what in the classics make them classics. Classic love songs are those that create a response and resonance in most of us, of love and being in love. Classic Christmas carols are those that create the response and resonance of Christmas and the values and traditions and wishes we have about it.
So - what are the values, traditions, event, activities, experiences and emotions you associate - or wish to associate - with Samhain? I believe quite a lot of Christmas carols are "traditional", because we want to be connected with our history and culture. I, at least, want the "folk art" connection. I like the German folklore themed Yule, and I know I'm not the only one, because Santa and Mrs. Santa both are dressed in German style folk costumes in Yule-y colors; red, white and green. All the elves are dressed in some sort of Renaissance Fair Yule style. So, my favorite Christmas carols are from time at least 200 years ago. I love Piae Cantiones. (Of course I have some favorites among the modern songs, but my favorite music is very "Pagan". You know, folk music, ethnorock, meditation music, Gothic songs, fantasy and fairytale film music, songs with Pagan theme etc. Here's 15 Pagan songs that are quite OK. If you want to emphasize the fact that Samhain is a Pagan holiday, you use Pagan music to do that.
Sound is a very powerful way to make memories and create Holiday spirit. I know myself that Yule doesn't feel right without the "right" music, my favorite carols. I have a playlist on my MP3 player for just Yule Spirit. :-D Now, there's tons of Christmas songs, but very few for Samhain, with the Pagan message. I have started collecting autumn songs and other songs that deliver the message I associate with Samhain, and I suggest you do the same.
You can listen to the Christmas music, and see how it is build. It's not rocket science to write new lyrics to old songs, and most Christmas music (at least the eldest) is folk tunes with new lyrics. The lyrics aren't especially advanced or great poetry, and mostly just repeating something about Jesus. I'm not expecting that all Pagans become composers and poets just to get nice music that sets the correct mood, but, as I said, it's not rocket science, and "done is better than perfect". You don't need to write award winning songs and lyrics, just enough to have something that works for you. We really cannot expect that the Western popular culture, that builds on 1700 years of Christian spiritual monopoly, does that for us non-Christians. :-D
Also, one needs to remember that music is not the only auditory stimulant there is. Again, think about Yule.
Jinglebells? The mere sound of sleighbells makes you think of Yule.
What does snow sound? Not only the sound of snow under your steps, but I can hear snow fall. I bet you know exactly what I mean... I'm back in the forest at Yuletime, walking among the trees when the snow falls softly around... I can feel the crisp coldness, the moisture of frozen water, the silence, all voices muffled by snow, I can see the dark branches against the whiteness of snow and the grey, colorless sky... and I feel the winter and Yule.
So - the last day of Autumn, the first day of Winter... what is it like outside? What do you hear when you picture yourself walking in the forest on the first day of November.
Rustle of the leaves? You could always bring in some autumn leaves and sprinkle them on the floor. That way they would not only create the "walking in the autumn leaves" sound, but also the smell and touch, and even the visual effect.
You could also make your leaves of tinted vellum so that you can use them every year. Here's some free printable templates and instructions on how to make autumn leaf wreath and garland.
Here in Stockholm there might be snow already at that time of the year, but most likely it's very wet. It's also cold. It's frosty during the night, so the puddles have been frozen over during the night, so you might here that ice cracking.
How could you repeat that experience in a home?
You could put the punch bowl in the freezer for a while, to make it froze over.
You could make slush punch. If you make cola flavored jello, your punch will looks exactly like the snow slushy puddles of this season. :-D Here's a recipe to ghoul-ade
You could make candy ice. The "sugar glass" looks like clear ice, I think.
Broken Glass cupcakes
stained glass cookies - use clear or light blue candy for ice. If you make the cookie of meringue, you get a little block of ice in snow. If you make it of chocolate cookies, it looks a bit like frozen puddle. The thing is that you are after getting the auditory experience of ice crackling... so make the sugar glass very thin.
Sea glass candy
What about the wind and rain? Autumn storms? I think most songs about wind and rain are very suitable for Samhain. This is Kansas and Dust In The Wind - and I think the melody is so lovely melancholic and the message is very appropriate for this season. :-)
You could also, in stead of the moaning and howling of ghosts and other such sound effects, try to wind the wind whispering in the forest and other such sound effects.
Again, I want to repeat, that this just as everything else I say, is 100% on your terms. Don't do anything that doesn't get YOU to Holiday Mood.
It is also the only way you can separate reality from movies and internet... those appeal only to eyes and ears. You can't feel the softness of a pretty afghan in a movie, you can't taste the delicious looking pie or smell the glorious flowers of a nice decorating photo on the Pinterest. You have to experience that in "real life".
This is very important and a big reason to why you should bother at least a bit and actually do SOMETHING to hallow the Sabbaths.
So, how to appeal and stimulate your sense of sound? And what are the sounds of Samhain?
Sound is very important part of evoking emotions to influence experiences. In movies, sound is even more important than the visual impact. It's the film music and sound effects that color the scenes and make us feel what the film maker wants us to feel. The same scenes change mood by the sounds. If one plays melancholy music behind a love scene, we think it's the last time they see each other. If the music is scary, we are expecting to find out there's something fishy going on. Perhaps one of them is about to kill the other? If the music is epic, magnificent, symphonic, we read great passion in the relationship. If the music is cute and sweet, we smile...
I think it's interesting that I haven't found anything written about this specific subject. All holiday decoration and preparation out there on-line is very much about the classic details, more or less modernized, but not about what in the classics make them classics. Classic love songs are those that create a response and resonance in most of us, of love and being in love. Classic Christmas carols are those that create the response and resonance of Christmas and the values and traditions and wishes we have about it.
So - what are the values, traditions, event, activities, experiences and emotions you associate - or wish to associate - with Samhain? I believe quite a lot of Christmas carols are "traditional", because we want to be connected with our history and culture. I, at least, want the "folk art" connection. I like the German folklore themed Yule, and I know I'm not the only one, because Santa and Mrs. Santa both are dressed in German style folk costumes in Yule-y colors; red, white and green. All the elves are dressed in some sort of Renaissance Fair Yule style. So, my favorite Christmas carols are from time at least 200 years ago. I love Piae Cantiones. (Of course I have some favorites among the modern songs, but my favorite music is very "Pagan". You know, folk music, ethnorock, meditation music, Gothic songs, fantasy and fairytale film music, songs with Pagan theme etc. Here's 15 Pagan songs that are quite OK. If you want to emphasize the fact that Samhain is a Pagan holiday, you use Pagan music to do that.
Sound is a very powerful way to make memories and create Holiday spirit. I know myself that Yule doesn't feel right without the "right" music, my favorite carols. I have a playlist on my MP3 player for just Yule Spirit. :-D Now, there's tons of Christmas songs, but very few for Samhain, with the Pagan message. I have started collecting autumn songs and other songs that deliver the message I associate with Samhain, and I suggest you do the same.
You can listen to the Christmas music, and see how it is build. It's not rocket science to write new lyrics to old songs, and most Christmas music (at least the eldest) is folk tunes with new lyrics. The lyrics aren't especially advanced or great poetry, and mostly just repeating something about Jesus. I'm not expecting that all Pagans become composers and poets just to get nice music that sets the correct mood, but, as I said, it's not rocket science, and "done is better than perfect". You don't need to write award winning songs and lyrics, just enough to have something that works for you. We really cannot expect that the Western popular culture, that builds on 1700 years of Christian spiritual monopoly, does that for us non-Christians. :-D
Also, one needs to remember that music is not the only auditory stimulant there is. Again, think about Yule.
Jinglebells? The mere sound of sleighbells makes you think of Yule.
What does snow sound? Not only the sound of snow under your steps, but I can hear snow fall. I bet you know exactly what I mean... I'm back in the forest at Yuletime, walking among the trees when the snow falls softly around... I can feel the crisp coldness, the moisture of frozen water, the silence, all voices muffled by snow, I can see the dark branches against the whiteness of snow and the grey, colorless sky... and I feel the winter and Yule.
So - the last day of Autumn, the first day of Winter... what is it like outside? What do you hear when you picture yourself walking in the forest on the first day of November.
Rustle of the leaves? You could always bring in some autumn leaves and sprinkle them on the floor. That way they would not only create the "walking in the autumn leaves" sound, but also the smell and touch, and even the visual effect.
You could also make your leaves of tinted vellum so that you can use them every year. Here's some free printable templates and instructions on how to make autumn leaf wreath and garland.
Here in Stockholm there might be snow already at that time of the year, but most likely it's very wet. It's also cold. It's frosty during the night, so the puddles have been frozen over during the night, so you might here that ice cracking.
How could you repeat that experience in a home?
You could put the punch bowl in the freezer for a while, to make it froze over.
You could make slush punch. If you make cola flavored jello, your punch will looks exactly like the snow slushy puddles of this season. :-D Here's a recipe to ghoul-ade
You could make candy ice. The "sugar glass" looks like clear ice, I think.
Broken Glass cupcakes
stained glass cookies - use clear or light blue candy for ice. If you make the cookie of meringue, you get a little block of ice in snow. If you make it of chocolate cookies, it looks a bit like frozen puddle. The thing is that you are after getting the auditory experience of ice crackling... so make the sugar glass very thin.
Sea glass candy
What about the wind and rain? Autumn storms? I think most songs about wind and rain are very suitable for Samhain. This is Kansas and Dust In The Wind - and I think the melody is so lovely melancholic and the message is very appropriate for this season. :-)
You could also, in stead of the moaning and howling of ghosts and other such sound effects, try to wind the wind whispering in the forest and other such sound effects.
Again, I want to repeat, that this just as everything else I say, is 100% on your terms. Don't do anything that doesn't get YOU to Holiday Mood.
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