SECTION II - FAMILY ISSUES

Promoting Pagan Family Values - Selene SilverWind

Promoting Pagan Family Values - Samhain
by Selene Silverwind
Slvrwind@aol.com

No sooner have the Halloween pumpkins come off the stoop, the children traded their candy for other pieces better suited to rotting the teeth, and Samhain decorations been taken out of the windows, than it's time to start preparing for Yule. These ideas will give you a head start.

When I was a child and it was cold and rainy outside, I loved to make things inside. Dough ornaments were a favorite. According to my Gold Medal Flour cookbook, all you need is 4 cups of flour, 2 cups of salt and 1 1/2 cups of warm water. Hand mix all the ingredients together and knead for ten minutes. Roll the dough out to 1/8 to 1/4 inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. It can then be shaped into whatever your children's little hearts desire, from wreathes and candy canes to leaves, stars, and moons. Insert a small wire loop at the top for hanging and bake at 250 degrees for 30 minutes. Turn the ornaments over if you can and bake another hour, or until completely hard and dry. Cool on a wire rack, then paint and shellac. An alternative is to make fall ornaments in the shape of leaves, pinecones, pumpkins, and other fall symbols. String them on wire fishing line to hang in the windows. Better yet, make a mobile to go inside your child's room. Be careful not to make the ornaments too big or they will be too heavy to hang!

An excellent craft for your child's class is one I recall from my childhood. When I was in first grade, my teacher had us make simple clay candleholders and just thinking of them brings back fond memories. We started with a lump of clay and divided it in half. Part was flattened into a round disk and the other half was divided again. Half of that was rolled into a thin rope and coiled on the center of that disk, creating a circle large enough to hold a candle (test it with a standard taper) and about 3/4 of an inch high. We cut leaves shaped like holly leaves and rolled two small berries from the remaining clay and arranged them around the coiled circle. Our teacher fired them in the kiln and the next day we painted the whole thing green. The next morning we arrived to find that the berries had turned red. According to our teacher, they had ripened overnight. Gullible children that we were, we fell for it and happily glazed them before taking them home the next day. This craft is fairly attention intensive, so you may not need to tell a story during craft time, but a story about Mother Nature bringing winter on the land so the flowers can rest for next year would be appropriate. Afterwards they can snack on sugar cookies baked in the shape of evergreen trees or autumn leaves. Again, this craft can be modified for November by making holders in the shape of autumn leaves.

We all get so busy getting our homes ready for holiday guests and friends from out of town that we forget to decorate our neighborhoods. There seems to be at least one large evergreen tree in every neighborhood, so arrange for a tree-trimming party early in the season. Invite each family to bring an ornament that is symbolic to them. Any neighborhood tree will look fabulous decked out in dreidels, stars, glass balls, Santas, moons, crosses, and what not. The variety will be what makes it special. While the tree is decorated, warm your cold neighbors with hot apple cider and fresh-baked cookies.

Soon the snow will fall and a new year will dawn. Take the time to enjoy what's left of this one while you can.