Celebrate!
February is a kind of month on the edge, not yet spring, but not quite winter still. Most of our February holidays seem to celebrate that place on the edge of the seasons. So whether you live in a place where the trees are already blooming or in a place where you expect snow on the ground for at least another month, click on the links below to find fun facts and activities for celebrating the holidays of this in-between season.
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We Honor… |
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| Black History Month in the US by choosing Whitney Young, Jr. as our person of the month from UU history. Whitney Young was a Unitarian Universalist who was a major force in the civil rights movement. As Executive Director of the National Urban League he not only was incredibly successful at raising money for programs to improve the lives of poor, inner-city folks, he also was an important part of making the 1963 March on Washington. Perhaps in part because of his involvement as an active UU layperson, Whitney Young was a bridge-builder during an incredibly divided time, a person who worked for integration and encouraged white people to support—and contribute to—empowerment for Black people.
Read a sermon about Whitney Young, Jr.'s life. (PDF)
"The truth is that there is nothing noble in being superior to somebody else. The only real nobility is in being superior to your former self."
—Whitney Young, Jr. |
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Act!
You can find out more about the National Urban League by visiting their website. Together, your family might find out about programs in your own area to empower people who, because of poverty or prejudice, need a little help to succeed. Teens might be able to tutor students at a homework program at a local library, for instance. Or maybe there is a program or school that would be happy to have books you no longer read as a donation. Or, at the very least, learning about the Urban League and other empowerment organizations can help you think about the best way for us to live in a world where some people have access to more opportunities than others.
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Nurturing Your Spirit
One way of praying is to pray for someone else, to wish for their health and happiness. You can do this by picturing the person glowing with light, imagining them as strong and joyful, sending them your love. You can turn making or signing Valentine's cards into a spiritual practice by giving a short prayer for each person as you write their name. (Or just before or after you write their name—since you might want to close your eyes to picture them better.) They might never know that their Valentine comes with a special gift of prayer, but that's fine. Putting a little more love out into the world just can't hurt!
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Practicing the Principles
Our second principle is "Justice, equity and compassion in human relationships." In other words, all people should be treated fairly and kindly. It was "justice, equity and compassion" that Whitney Young, Jr. worked for through the National Urban League—and as a volunteer for the Unitarian Universalist Service Committee.
"Equity" was the center of the civil rights movement—the notion that everyone should be treated equally, not discriminated against because of the color of their skin. Do you think there is "equity" in relationships between adults and children? Do you think there should be? Are there times when people can be treated fairly, but not the same?
As a family, take a look at what rights, privileges and responsibilities people of different ages have. Does everyone feel like these are "equitable"? Are they different, but fair? Different and unfair? The same and unfair? Are there some privileges and responsibilities people might like to change? You could do an experiment, and trade responsibilities and privileges for a day. Kids can't take over their parents' work lives, and parents can't go to school for their kids, but on a weekend day at home you might be able to trade chores, such as responsibilities for cooking, cleaning, shopping or yard work. Does trading make you feel like things are more or less equitable than you imagined? |
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Ask CLiF
Ask CLiF any questions you have about religion or living
a good life.
What holidays do Unitarians celebrate?
—(No name given)
Dear Writer,
Excellent question, and one that arrived just as I was writing about the topic for the April Quest. (You can read Quest online at www.clfuu.org/quest, but the April issue won't be up until—go figure—April.) The short answer is "Any holidays they want to celebrate." Unitarian Universalism embraces wisdom from all the world's religions, so there's no reason that UUs couldn't celebrate holidays from all around the world. But holidays only mean something if you understand where they come from and what their stories are, so most UUs celebrate holidays from the religion they grew up with. So UUs who grew up Christian most likely celebrate Christmas and Easter, UUs who grew up Jewish often celebrate Passover and UUs who grew up Hindu might celebrate Diwali. Families with parents who com from different religions than each other might get to celebrate extras! And, of course, some families decide to include traditions that they didn't grow up with, but find meaning in now. This is likely to be the case with pagan/earth-centered holidays like solstices and equinoxes.
There aren't really Unitarian holidays that belong just to us. The closest you might find would be our flower ceremony, celebrated by many UU churches in the spring or early summer. The flower ceremony was created in the 1940s by Norbert Capek, a Unitarian minister in Czechoslovakia. Learn more about the flower ceremony.
—CLiF
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