Celebrating Spring
Written September 2011
As a new mom I remember reading Sally Clarkson’s book Mission of Motherhood. One of the family aspects that stood out for me was her thoughts on celebrations. We not talking about Christmas or Easter here but rather everyday celebrations.
Since then we have selected a handful of special days and created our own personal celebrations around it. When our children look back on their childhood it’s my hope that they will say, “Our family was special because we always celebrated…..”
One of our favourite celebrations is Spring. This has evolved over the years depending on where we have lived and how old the children have been but this is how it looks today. Mom gets up really early to start making scones for breakfast. Once everyone is up we trek out into the garden with baskets to collect flowers and leaves to decorate the table with. Then while the children decorate and set the table we finish getting the scones, fruit, yogurt and fruits raw oats ready to eat. We then all sit down to breakfast with soft music playing, sweet flower scents drifting from the table and candles burning. Breakfast begins with a prayer thanking God for spring, hope, life and all things beautiful.
This year we focused on the Bible verse Song of Songs 2: 11- 13 , “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land. The fig tree forms its early fruit; the blossoming vines spread their fragrance. Arise, come, my darling; my beautiful one, come with me.”
So after breakfast the older children wrote out and illustrated the verse while the younger ones illustrated theirs (we cut out some butterfly wrapping paper too – just to add to the effect.) As we had moms group that morning we spent the time making flower arrangements with our friends. W aim to have a lovely supper too at the end of the day during which we all either recite or read a poem that speaks of spring, hope, or new life. The evening is ended by Daddy praying for us.
Update 2020 –
Spring Day is still a central part of our lives.
Happy 1st of Spring ~ what a privilege to celebrate new life, love, hope and birth along with the rest of creation. As we drink tea, write spring poetry and begin our new phenology wheels – yup that’s a thing – we take a moment to pause and reflect. Spring day is about more than just the day but about living the winter, living the hard, raw, real all the while holding onto the hope that spring will soon usher in a new season of warmth, light and pure joy. As our lives here mirror an eternal story – celebrating Spring Day not only warms our heart and home but fills our souls too!