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“…. by participating in a ritual, … [y]our consciousness is being re-minded of the wisdom of your own life. —Joseph Campbell

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Yesterday we celebrated Epiphany,

When wise men worshipped the Christ child. 

& recalled the goons in MAGA caps who trashed the nation’s capital.

Still rattled today, we observe our annual ritual:

  We play The Christmas Revels 

                                                            Wassail, wassail, all over the town

  We strip the tree of 

   Ornaments:

     From pilgrimages—

                 2 wooden sheep from Scotland 

          (my ancestors died for Bonnie Prince Charlie)

                          2 olive wood crusaders’ crosses from Jerusalem

                                    (Christians & Muslims slaughtered each other for centuries)

                          1 porcelain nazar from Istanbul

                                    (protection against evil)                      

Here come I, old Father Christmas

             From childhood—

                          1 wooden and tin mesh angel from the turn of the 20^th Century

(2 world wars, 2 flu epidemics, the Depression, Korea, Viet Nam, 3 assassinations, Watergate, 9-11, yesterday)

               

        1 plastic Santa from WWII                             

           (Dad in Belgium building bridges for tanks)

The boar’s head in hand have I

3 shiny ornaments my parents bought with green stamps 

                                    (To brighten memories of their broken childhoods)

                                                                                                There was a pig went out to dig

                                                                                                Christ-i-mas day, Christ-i-mas day  

            From children & grandchildren—

                        4 yarn & toothpick God’s-eyes

                        1 fuse-bead heart, 1 fuse-bead cat, 1 fuse-bead turtle, 

                        2 black felt cats honoring my step-son’s first pets

                        1 brown fur diarrhea microbe 

(from my daughter-in-law who helps impoverished countries improve water quality)

                        1 embroidered-flower ornament from my 16-year-old daughter

                                    (2 years before she died from cancer)

                                                                                                            The holly and the ivy…

     Lights:

            3 strings of red  blue  green  orange  bulbs

                        (The big painted ones long gone, but at least these aren’t white)                              

            1 yellow star

                        (“For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage.”)

Dance, then, wherever you may be

                                                                                                I am the Lord of the Dance, said he.

So, we dance

between

Christianity & paganism

Past & present

Light & dark

Death & life

Sorrow & joy

Arms clinging to our rite of hope.

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