Fast Away The Old Year Passes

For years now my family and I sing one special song during our Yule celebration. “Deck the Halls.” Why? Because it is without a doubt (in my opinion) the most pagan of the traditional holiday carols. Not to mention it is fun to sing and we all know the lyrics. Well, my family knows the first stanza and I know the second plus a little of the third by memory.

“Deck the Halls” celebrates the coming New Year. Normally, that is a good thing. Resolutions. Beginnings. Looking from the old to the new. The anticipation of the calendar moving from December to January.

However, this year is different —or it is for me. Less party and more just get this thing over with already. My child, Ode, has said that when looking back 2019 seemed to be such a difficult year. We celebrated the turning of the clock over to 2020 with the firm belief of better times to come.

Well.

Here we are.

New Year: Trying Not To Be “Harried and Hopeless.”

I’m not going to rehash how awful 2020 has been for the majority of the world. While many of us have been able to weather the COVID storm, it has not been easy. Honestly, I’d be surprised if we don’t all have PTSD.

And yeah, I’m skeptical. I feel anxious about what the coming months will bring. Will anything change? Will it be more of the same? The truth is I do not know. What we need is for the New Year to bring with it healing and restoration in health, social justice, and politics to name a few areas. We have lost so much in the last 9-10 months: lives, income, jobs and businesses, stability, and much more.

However, all I can do is persevere. Take care of my family. Be present in the moments. Be okay when my SPOONS run out for the day, the week, the month. Do my part (mask up, maintain social distance, wash my hands) to protect myself and others.

Breathe.

Truly, that is all any of us can do. Keep pressing forward.

May 2020 Fast Away…

I began this post by talking about our family tradition of singing “Deck the Halls.” And since my writing has taken a melancholy turn (because 2020) I thought I’d hearken back to the words of the final verse. You can insert your own “fa-la-la’s”:

“Fast away the old year passes,
Hail the new, ye lads and lasses!
Laughing, quaffing all together,
Heedless of the wind and weather.”

While we still have a long way to go before a “new normal” may be established, there is hope on the horizon. Things look and feel different now. They will continue to do so. Who knows how things will have changed when the dust settles.

And while it is easy to become morose (as I’ve established while writing my “feels” just now), perhaps it is the wisdom of an old carol that will lead us all toward something different once more. Something at least improved.

So, while I will be lighting a candle for a better tomorrow on New Year’s Eve, perhaps I’ll open a bottle of mead to “quaff” while finding a way to share some laughter with my husband and children, and ignore the passage of time for a little while.

**If you haven’t check out our podcast then please do. We are moving into our third year and look forward to sharing more topics, information, and discussion on paganism with our listeners. 3 Pagans and a Cat: Three Paths. One Journey. New Cat.**