Tuesday, December 26, 2023
illuminaria
OK I'll admit that illuminaria (see below) are not really Quakerly. A true Quaker Christmas is devoid of symbolism, no trees, no lights, no anything that represents God or puts symbols into it that come between us and God. In a strictly Quaker community, no one day is any different from another, and in a kind of austere way, we all try to live as godly a life on Christmas day as on any other day.
I could never live like that, probably, though I like the idea that the symbolism is pretty much culturally generated and does nothing for our relationship with God. But I think that, living in this culture, and having lots of kids, it's necessary to partake in some of the symbols in whatever form suits you. I'm also by the way ok with mixing religions and leaning on Buddhist or other symbols and practices if that's what it does for you. I think we shouldn't scoff at symbols that people use to try to get closer to God because if you think about it, it's much better than symbols that we use to get farther away.
Around here there's been a huge rise in Halloween symbolism to the point that many houses had skeletons on their porch from around September first to maybe December first. Having a three-month run on skeletons gets close to what happens at Christmas when this vast town of decorations keeps its lights up for maybe four or five months. And then there's Hannukah; a lot of people even non-Jews got into the candles this year if maybe because of the war. Is God going to come closer to them through those candles or through the lights on the angel on their porch (as I saw this morning)? I think God is not operating through the symbols although people are demonstrating their need to reach out.
And that's how I feel about the illuminaria (below). Once a year I demonstrate my seeking of God; I show my kids and the world that I am reaching out. I'll be the first to admit that doing it symbolically is not the same as doing it, and not as good, not genuine as it were. I feel that as well as know it. But I do it anyway, and we do a lit tree that shines through the window. They don't have white Christmases anymore around here, but trying to recreate the feeling of seeking in the middle of winter is what we're after. It doesn't matter if the neighbors notice.
I could never live like that, probably, though I like the idea that the symbolism is pretty much culturally generated and does nothing for our relationship with God. But I think that, living in this culture, and having lots of kids, it's necessary to partake in some of the symbols in whatever form suits you. I'm also by the way ok with mixing religions and leaning on Buddhist or other symbols and practices if that's what it does for you. I think we shouldn't scoff at symbols that people use to try to get closer to God because if you think about it, it's much better than symbols that we use to get farther away.
Around here there's been a huge rise in Halloween symbolism to the point that many houses had skeletons on their porch from around September first to maybe December first. Having a three-month run on skeletons gets close to what happens at Christmas when this vast town of decorations keeps its lights up for maybe four or five months. And then there's Hannukah; a lot of people even non-Jews got into the candles this year if maybe because of the war. Is God going to come closer to them through those candles or through the lights on the angel on their porch (as I saw this morning)? I think God is not operating through the symbols although people are demonstrating their need to reach out.
And that's how I feel about the illuminaria (below). Once a year I demonstrate my seeking of God; I show my kids and the world that I am reaching out. I'll be the first to admit that doing it symbolically is not the same as doing it, and not as good, not genuine as it were. I feel that as well as know it. But I do it anyway, and we do a lit tree that shines through the window. They don't have white Christmases anymore around here, but trying to recreate the feeling of seeking in the middle of winter is what we're after. It doesn't matter if the neighbors notice.
Monday, December 25, 2023
