Celebrate!
“Tra-la, It’s May!” Or so goes the
song. (click
here and then scroll down to “Camelot: Lusty
Month of May,” if you want to hear it.) May invites
us to celebrate the fertility of Mother Earth on Beltane—and
to honor our biological, adoptive or otherwise mothers-in-fact
on Mothers Day. At the opposite side of the cycle of
life is Memorial Day, a time of honoring those who have
died, particularly those who have died during wars.
Cinco de Mayo also honors a war, but it’s a more
cheerful celebration of a Mexican victory accomplished
against great odds. See below to find links to information,
games, activities and more for these May holidays.
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We Honor…
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| Unitarian Julia Ward Howe, who became famous
for writing the words to “The Battle Hymn of the
Republic.” (Read
the words, or listen
to the song.) However, although the “Battle
Hymn” was her most famous piece of writing, she
became a peace activist, an opponent of war as well
as an advocate for women’s rights and for the
abolition of slavery. In 1872 she wrote a
stirring call for women to demand peace and established
a yearly Mother’s Peace Day as a way for women
to work for peace. Mother’s Day has since become
a more general holiday honoring mothers (you can find
out more about its history under the Mother’s
Day link above), but we still remember Julia Ward Howe,
who believed so strongly in the ability of women to
change the world for the better.
Learn
a lot more about Julia Ward Howe, including her
difficult marriage to Unitarian reformer and educator
Samuel Gridley Howe.
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Act!
This month we honor those who have died in war, and
we celebrate Mother’s Day, which was originally
a day for promoting peace. So why not do a little something
to make peace yourself? You can probably think of lots
of peaceful things to do, but here are a few ideas to
get you started:
Make
paper cranes, a symbol of peace. Then mail your
cranes to the president (or prime minister or other
government official), along with a note or prayer for
peace. Or give a crane to somebody you’ve been
fighting with as a peace offering. Or hang paper cranes
in your room as a reminder to live peacefully.
Make
a peace pole. Find out more about it in this
month’s REsources page in Quest.
Hold a peace vigil. Make signs with messages
and pictures for peace. Invite your friends, and make
sure you include some grown-ups. Go to a public place
(not too close to cars!) and sing peace songs or sit
in silence imagining a peaceful world.
Check out other activities on-line.
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Nurturing Your Spirit
Religions around the world and across time have used
singing and chanting (simple, repeating songs) to nurture
the spirit. You can listen on-line to cool chants from
around the world and from different religions. Try:
Better still, make up your own chant. Choose some words
that are meaningful to you (like “Who I am is
good, who I am is holy,” not “my
sister is a dingbat, my brother is a jerk”). Then
just play with singing the words until you come up with
a tune you like. Remember, chants aren’t supposed
to be fancy, so just a few notes can get the job done
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Ask CLiF
Ask CLiF any questions you have about religion or living
a good life
Dear CLiF,
What’s with the kidtalk blog? I don’t
get it. --Riane
Sorry about that, Riane. It can be a bit confusing
until you try it once or twice. The KidTalk Blogspot
is a place for CLF kids to have their say. If you
click on the Blogspot icon it takes you to our KidTalk
page where there is a list of months with questions
underneath them. Under the question there’s
something that says “comments” in light
blue, with a number in front of it. Click on that
“comments” to read what other people have
had to say, and then on “post a comment”
to give your own answer. The first time you post a
comment you will need to register, filling in your
username, password and the name that will go on your
comments. Don’t worry—registering doesn’t
mean buying anything, and it doesn’t give out
your e-mail address. But do get permission from an
adult anytime you register for something on-line.
I love to read what people have to say, and our
blog can be a way for CLF kids to connect around the
world. And if you want to write a comment that’s
not exactly an answer to the posted question, that’s
OK too.
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