Creating Your Own Holidays

Today’s culture is far more informal than in other times in history but perhaps we’re missing out on some of the benefits of formal ritual celebrations?

An idea I like for families or individuals is to create your own calendar of ‘annual holidays’ for the Church of You (or you and Your Family).

Pick exactly what YOU would like to celebrate (very specifically).

Really try to express your personality and values in identifying what YOU MOST want to celebrate about your life (or by having this discussion together as a family)

You might choose to have a 6 monthly celebration in which you record all the living you have done in the past 6 months, focusing on what you have done, big and small, rather than what you haven’t done.

Pick 1, 6, or however many you want, ‘holydays’ to celebrate.

Assign each thing you want to celebrate to a particular day of the year (e.g. you might pick when to celebrate based on the season that seems most fitting, or aspects of your annual schedule).

Design a ritual for the celebration. For example, the ritual might be that you take a portrait photo of each individual in the family on that day. Or, that you get up early and bake a cake and eat it for breakfast.

Let your mind roam FREE and use your creative freedom for self expression, in terms of what you WANT to celebrate and how you celebrate it.