Sadly, unwanted former Easter rabbits are a problem for virtually all rabbit rescues, humane societies, and animal welfare organizations. The goal of the “Make Mine Chocolate!” campaign is to address the problem at its source: reduce the number of uninformed, impulse purchases by changing the public's attitude towards rabbits.
Wrapping paper and Christmas cards are part of the tradition but how about being even more creative and environmentally friendly? Sending online Christmas cards isn’t the same but it’s an alternative. If you buy cards get them in a box, buying a single card will cost a lot more. Plus you will have enough cards rather than going out again for anyone you forgot. Of course, look for cards and wrapping paper made with recycled paper.
Wrap presents in fabric: dish cloths, towels, blankets, scarves, pillowcases and clothing. How about giving presents in other containers such as lunch bags, travel cases, laundry baskets, cookie jars, food storage containers, tool boxes, knapsacks and other things people can use again. It’s a present in a present that way. You can also wrap presents in drawings children have made. Pages from comics, magazines, newspapers and books too dog eared to reuse (second hand bookstores) are crafty ideas too.
Skip the bows and ribbons and go with other reusable things like strings of beads, knitting yarn, garden twine and mittens on a string for kids. Decorate the top of the package with Christmas ornaments, fridge magnets, hair clips, seed packages, sample packs of coffee, photos from Christmas past, anything small and useful or just small and pretty.
Furoshiki - a type of traditional Japanese wrapping cloth that were frequently used to transport clothes, gifts, or other goods.
Tomorrow is the Autumn Equinox. I should be doing something, celebrating the changing seasons. But I'm not. I'll be at work from 9:00am till 8:30 at night. By the time I'm done I will be too tired to drive myself home. But, I have to do that so I'll manage somehow. Times like that I'm so glad it's the car that does all the work!
Anyway, real life does interfere with how Wiccan or Pagan we would like to be. That's ok, it's reality. If I was to skip work and the big meeting after work, that would be living in some unreal imaginary world of my own creation. I have to work to make money to pay for my car, my rent and the clothes I wear while I do all those other things. Now and then I even treat myself to a new book, a fancy coffee or a day of window shopping.
It's ok to live in the real world. It's ok to miss a Pagan celebration. It would be nicer to not miss it. But, really as long as I'm alive and still on this planet I'm not missing a thing. As I drive I'll be looking at the darkened forest I drive through on the way home. I'll be watching for deer and foxes who sometimes show up along the roadside in the evenings. I'll be listening to the sounds of the night as I drive with the windows down to let in all that cool night air and the scent of crisp Autumn leaves.
You may not light candles, perform rituals or chant pretty rhymes but that doesn't mean you're not celebrating along with the rest of the world. It's what you have in your heart, mind and soul that matters, even if you only express it to yourself. You don't have to prove how Pagan you are to anyone but you.
Merry Spring. That's what I say and celebrate instead of Easter. Now it's just past Beltane, also known as May Day (especially if you're about to crash in an airplane).
How do you bring the Pagan holidays into your own life? Do you light a candle at midnight and recite something from a book? Do you go outside and contemplate being skyclad if only it wasn't so cold out? Do you put some dried herbs on your altar and make new notes in your Book of Shadows? Or do you make it personal?
I wasn't in the mood to celebrate Beltane on May 1st. But today I was and so that's what I did. Today, was the 333rd birthday of the company I work for. Yes, The Hudson's Bay Company is 333 years old as of Friday, May 2nd, 2003. The company handed out watches to every employee and there were several kinds of cake, fresh fruit, coffee, muffins and other goodies. It was nice. Not because it was elaborate but because we were included.
So, today on the drive home I felt in the right mood for Beltane, the celebration of Spring. I took advantage of that. I created my own ritual on the spot, impulsively and used what was at hand where I was. Those are usually the best rituals, the ones that aren't planned and mean so much more than something taken from a book or plan.
I had my new watch as the altar, set up on the dashboard of my car. It was dark outside by the time I finished work tonight, the darkness itself became an element, I opened the car windows to let it in. I had picked a bloom from the forced bulbs for sale in the garden centre and that was another element in the ritual. Plus it smelled great. That was all I needed. I waited, enjoying the quiet as everyone else left the parking lot. Two people stopped and asked if I was having car trouble. I just said I was taking my time, enjoying the quiet.
I didn't have a lot of words. I talked about Spring, renewal, the garden, spring flowers, rain, all the things I like best about this time of year. Mostly I just enjoyed the quiet, darkness of the night and the smell of the hyacinthe bloom in my car.
Originally posted to 'BackWash: Where the Wild Things Are' newsletter, May, 3, 2003.