Dec31
New Year’s Rituals – Part II
image found via kindovermatter and originally uploaded from Therese’n
This post was originally written on December 31, 2009.
Yesterday, I wrote about my own cultural New Year’s rituals. Today, I will share other rituals from different religions and culture. Again, I want to thank Michelle Pessin, life coach specializing teachers and special needs children, for the inspiration. Thanks, Michelle!
Rituals that have personal meaning for you makes the BEST rituals. It helps you to consciously clear your mind, FOCUS, and to move forward to the new year and new decade. These personal rituals can be anything like choosing a word and to embody that word throughout the year, letter to yourself, letter to your future self, prayer, affirmation, choosing a symbolic image, or planning a trip somewhere that has special meaning for you. It does not matter what your ritual is, it just needs to have meaning for you! New Year’s rituals can be by yourself, with friends, family, or your significant other. I assembled some New Year’s rituals for you below. Write me a comment if you have one that is not on my list or comment if you adopted one from the list. I would love to hear from you.
Cultural or cleansing rituals:
- Thailand: water represents cleansing and renewal, and water is tossed out the door or windows to passerbys, or public fountains
- Japan: cleaning their home on the last day to welcome the New Year’s harvest god. Clearing the clutter to create a clean, peaceful, simplistic environment to symbolize the clearing out of old energy from the current year and create a fresh, welcoming energy and space for new, positive events and opportunities to move into your life
Rituals of Closure
- Native American: Write your worries, regrets, or fears on a small piece of paper. Go to a nearby park or your own backyard, dig a small hole in the ground and place those pieces of paper and into the hole and bury it. Place leaves, twigs, branches, rocks, or stones over the hole. This symbolizes the earth to absorb the past and leave you unburdened for the new year.
- Releasing something tangible, like balloons, butterflies or doves (if you can find them) or bubbles symbolizes the release of the past. An environmentally friendly way to release the past is to buy bubbles in the dollar store and at sunrise, release your worries, regrets, or fears and then at dusk, release your hopes, wishes, or desires to the Universe. Each bubble signifies one wish so if you have 20 hopes, wishes, desires make sure you blow those bubbles 20 times
- Write your past hurts, resentments, injustices or regrets on a piece of paper. Then, burn those pieces of paper, *but please be careful when you burn paper indoors*, take the ashes outside, and sprinkle them into the wind or a body of water to signify carrying these transgressions away
- Buddist temples in Japan bells are rung 108 times to dispel the 108 wordly desires: consider engaging in a bell-ringing ceremony with each bell toll representing something you wish to let go of or something you hope to call into your life in the months ahead
Rituals for New Beginnings
- Plant seeds in an indoor pot with each seed symbolizing your hopes, wishes, or desires that you would like to manifest. As the seed grows to a plant, you are nurturing your own hopes, wishes, or desires to come to fruition
- South America: Carry a suitcase or backpack around your block on New Year’s Eve to manifest your dream journey
Meditative Ritual
- Labyrinth walk or meditative walking: form of meditation where you walk slowly and mindfully reflect on your life and each step represents moving away from the past and towards the future
*DISCLAIMER*
If you decide to burn those pieces of paper, please be aware that this is dangerous to do indoors and to take necessary precautions. I am in no way responsible if your personal possessions, house or apartment catches on fire.
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