First-Foot and the Great 30th.

These things I warmly wish you:

Someone to love, some work to do

Some bit of sun, a bit of cheer

And a guardian angel near

As a doctor and a healer this year there were some insights that popped up.

One was the absolutely burst up sense of security. It turned up as lack of trust, whatever and then the reptilian brain took over and presto we have a flight/fight kicking in whatever.

This is kind of the time of the year when every social media group is asking you to display your trophy and that I realize is one of the sources of anxiety. Then the targets the goals for the year to come tra…la…la…la the next stressor.

Let’s imagine that this is a geometry rider my challenge to myself would be

How would I use this event to strengthen the root chakra, in practical words to create a space of no threat. 

The data available:

1. Year end trophy display causes anxiety. Triggers a sense of not being good enough.
2. Creating goals for the next year also triggers a sense of anxiety.
3. There are increasing presentation of low esteem due to the belief that I am not good enough to survive on my own.

funnily enough I found answers to this in my back yard. Though this is an intrinsic tradition from the eastern culture I will use Omisoka as the referral point.

Omisoka is the last day of the Japanese year. In 1873 during the Meiji restoration and the merging of the Japanese Calander with the Gregorian one, the great 30^th of the Japanese calendar was 31^st of Dec.

The last week of the year is dedicated to

1. Cleaning the house and space purification.
2. Clearing debts
3. Preparing eateries and gifts for the guests who come in the new year.

On New Year Eve the everybody has a relaxing bath, and eat long noodles with shallots in it, this symbolizes the crossing over from one year to the other.  Food is prepared over the last week is eaten over the first week of the New Year, this food is meant to welcome the deity of the year.

The crossing over of the year is symbolized by ringing of the bells 108 times, each count to release one temptation that causes suffering.  Then they congratulate one another for the New Year.

I’m bidding farewell to the old year with these

• Thank you for everything in the past year.
• Thank you for the support this past year
• I am so glad I had an opportunity to work with you this past year.          Looking forward to working with you again.

“who goes there” asks the officer to the person at the gate…

“New Year, and all is well” says the person who enters. this is part of the Scottish Hogmanay ritual.  This again is the ritual of the last day of the year and crossing over to the  New Year.

the most beautiful part is builds a community.  The first-foot of the year or the first guest to cross your threshold, after the New Year Bells toll.  This person bears gifts like coal, short bread, black bun and whiskey, this is the guest who heralds good luck to the family.

Food and wine are given to guest as gifts. This exchange is said to bring luck for the rest of the year. Tall dark men are preferred. Every Scottish town has its own ritual.

The ‘Saining” scoff is  an important ritual. Magic water from the river is sprinkled around the house. All the doors and windows are closed, branches of Juniper are burnt indoors so that the house is fumigates until the inmates begin to sneeze or cough.  The windows are then thrown open to let in fresh air of the New Year, this is followed by restorative ‘whiskey’ and New Year breakfast.  This ritual again is done to protect, and bless the house.

As we bid Farwell to 2023 my friends who we have lost to the mist of time

Haste you back, we love you dearly

Call again, you are welcome here

May your days be free of sorrow

And friends be near

May paths o’er which you wander

Be to you a joy each date

Haste Ye back we love you dearly

Haste Ye back on friendship way.

A little gratitude, a little hope, a little give and little forgive should go a long way to ground us.