The Happy Birthdays :: Rituals

:: We perform these rituals because we enjoy the results or the benefits that they bring us, or how they make us feel. ::
- J. Charist

I visited my little fishing village over the weekend to celebrate a friends' birthday.  There is this tradition I introduced in January when I held my annual King Cake party for the first time in the Yucatan.  The ritual has become part of our birthday celebrations for the expat women in my life.  At the end of the birthday celebration we create a love circle.  This shape we create with our hands is a bit complicated until you have done it a few times, but I'll try to describe it to you.  Everyone circles up, turns to face the back of the person in front of them and places their left hand, with arm extended, into the center of the circle.  Scooch towards the center of the circle until everyone is touching hands.  Each person makes a soft fist with their left hand, but extends their thumb in the direction of the person in front of them, placing the thump into the soft fist of that person.  This causes each participant to move closer to the center as well as towards one another.  If you are afraid of body contact, this won't work for you!

When I used this as a secret handshake with the Super Heroes Power Club kids, we began and ended our groups in this manner.  At the beginning of each session, each member took their freed right hand and put a word into the circle our hands created.  The word had to be something that would make us successful during group.  At the end, as we circled up again, each member took something out of the circle that they had learned during group.  I always brought love to our circle, and generally took something that seemed like a treasure, said or done, by one of the group members during our session.  

Ya Ya Love Circle

Joan Paci, © 2012

For the birthday parties, we only have a closing circle, telling the birthday person how they have reshaped our lives.  At the end, our fist rumble like the wave during a football game, lifting our arms high above our heads and shout, "YaYa's!".  My friend Diana started that part of the tradition during the King Cake party and it has stuck.  However, as I write this afterwards to last nights' party, I realize that we didn't follow tradition.

So Kathy, here you go, a birthday love circle just for you!  I'm grateful for your brilliant mind, your extraordinary kindness, quick wit, and your full engagement in this encore life! 

Happy Birthday September Broads Abroad!
The Broad

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