3. Community Celebrations

Another critical pattern that underscores our life together in community is our celebrations. Next to mealtimes, no other type of activity receives more attention than do our times of celebration. We hold celebrations to honor individuals, to recognize the changing seasons, to honor our interdependence with each other and the earth, and to honor “Tradition.”

Individual birthdays are honored in the month they occur, usually in groups of three or four people with birthdays in the same month, However, each person is individually honored by answering the birthday questions. These questions are:

1. How many years are you celebrating, i.e. how old are you?
2. What has been a significant event for you this year, or an image that holds what the year has been about for you?
3. What is the challenge of the coming year, or what are you looking forward to?
4. How can the community support you in the coming year?

After all the questions have been answered, the person asking the questions affirms the individual celebrating the birthday by sharing ways in which the person’s presence and contributions to the community are acknowledged. After the “birthday questions”, individual cakes or desserts with candles are brought to each person being honored. This is followed by singing of the birthday songs to all who are celebrating their birthdays and dessert for all. The birthday celebration has become a very meaningful occasion for both young and old. The children will sometimes participate in asking other children the questions and offer their affirmations. Knowing these questions are going to be asked provides an opportunity to be conscious of the significance of each year.

One of the ways we celebrate whenever we come together is by community singing. If you were to stand outside the Common House on a Monday evening when we do our weekly community gathering, you might hear voices singing songs like “Simple Gifts”, or “New Community Bound”. Sometimes the songs are created by one of the members, like the following words sung to the old tune “I love the Mountains”:

I love Songaia, I love community,
I love the flowers, the dandelions, and the trees,
I love the people, they means so very much to me,
Boom-de-ah-da, boom-de-ah-da, …

Solstice celebrations, especially Winter Solstice, is one that many look forward to as it marks the turning point for the days to become longer and it allows for those who like to drum and dance, or otherwise express their enthusiasm, to become highly animated. It is a time to reconnect to the natural rhythms of our solar system and express joy and gratitude that, once again, the darkness will be turning to light. The drama is part of the ritual that comes from and honors the indigenous culture that once inhabited the land on which we live.

Other Earth-related celebrations that have become an important part of our culture are Festival of the Earth and Thanksgiving. The Festival of the Earth combines Earth Day and May Day dynamics as we usually include earth care activities, like tree planting, along with a May Pole dance. Thanksgiving is like a three-act drama; in the first act we do a ritual, like the Iroquois Thanksgiving Address, the second act is the feast, and the third act is a ritual of sharing what we are thankful for personally. This third act is done before we fill ourselves with pie and other desserts.

During our extended development period, we noticed that our spirits lagged toward the end of summer. We decided that we need to go on a retreat where our full attention was focused on relaxation and having fun, We established an annual tradition of setting aside a weekend around Labor Day where we would find a campground or a site where we could set up tents, an outdoor kitchen, a shelter to get out of the sun or rain, and just enjoy each other. The highlight of the weekend is usually Saturday evening when we sit around a campfire, sing songs, and create our yearly story by going round robin with each person adding a word until everyone has contributed. The collective story is always an enjoyable activity and sometimes is remembered for its humor.

As some of us age, a higher priority has been placed on comfort and convenience. This past year we decided to stay at Songaia, do fun activities, and go to a park with a lake where we could do kayaking and swimming. We came back to Songaia to do our traditional gathering around a campfire. There was considerable resistance to do the retreat at Songaia as there was concern that folks would not detach themselves from their computers, telephones, and chores. This was not a problem as everyone tried to be engaged in the retreat.

The final celebration of the year takes place on New Year’s Eve and the following day. This has been an annual tradition for over 15 years. There are components of the New Year’s celebration that are included each year, although modified slightly. We begin with a celebrative dinner, sometimes it has been potluck but in recent years it has been an opportunity for one of our gourmet cooks to really get creative. After dinner, we see the annual Songaia slide show with a musical background followed by creating our Wall of Wonder for the year we have just completed. Photos and Sticky-notes with events of the year written on them are posted on an eight-foot wide by 30” high poster board that remains on the wall in the dining room until the following New Year’s celebration. We then reflect on what the year was about and come up with images that capture the spirit of the year. Other activities before midnight, at which time we toast in the New Year, include coming up with a theme for the coming year (e.g. Rejoice and Create in 2008), ceremonially burning the prayer flags from two years ago and circle dances. The next day starts with a late breakfast, creating prayer flags for the coming year, the annual gifts to the community, sharing individual intentions for the coming year and planting bulbs that were used in our Solstice celebration. The afternoon is movie time with folks seeing a video shown at our own Songaia Synema or going to a local cinema. The celebration ends with dinner out at a local Chinese restaurant.

Although our celebrations have an annual rhythm and repetitive quality, they seldom become boring. Creativity is injected into each activity as if it was the first time we were doing the event. The Celebrants with help from individuals with a passion for doing particular types of events each year manage to maintain a seamless flow of celebrations that sustain the spirit life of the community.