“In order for the light to shine so brightly, the darkness must be present.” -Sir Francis Bacon
Cultures around the world have traditions for chasing away the darkness and at the same time fanning the LIGHT as a reminder of the brighter days to come.
From the Buergbrennen fires in Luxembourg to the Lunar New Year lantern festivals across much of Asia, and as far-reaching as the garland of light festival of Diwali, or Dipawali, India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year, LIGHT is used to illuminate the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness.
In the Italian Alps, the “landzettes” wear completely handmade costumes with mirrors and bells to ward off evil spirits. Their role is to bring light, through pranks, dances, and, jovial thievery, to villagers during the darker days of winter. They are a reminder to all that winter is coming to a close.
It is about gathering and remembering we are not alone in the darkest days. In Aotearoa/New Zealand, the Māori of Whanganui calls the Southern Lights Tahunui-a-rangi, which translates to “great glowing sky”. Long ago, their ancestors left islands in the central Pacific and reached Aotearoa, arriving in canoes. One of these canoes continued sailing southward, eventually settling on lands unknown far over the southern horizon. The Southern Lights are believed to be reflections of the light and smoke of these ancestral fires, signaling their enduring presence.
The darker days are a good time to remember that the probability of being born, according to scientists, is 400-trillion-to-one. Four-hundred trillion!
Existence itself is a rare and precious gift especially when we start to think about this…
In order to be born, we need 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents, 16 great-great-great-grandparents, 32 third-great-grandparents, 64 fourth-great-grandparents, 128 fifth-great-grandparents, 256 sixth-great-grandparents, 512 seventh-great-grandparents, 1024 eighth-great-grandparents, and 2048 ninth-great-grandparents.
Over the past 12 generations, spanning approximately 400 years, we need a total of 4094 ancestors to come into existence. We are the result of thousands of lives, of so much love, of countless choices, and sacrifices. We are here on the crest of that legacy and in another 400 years, the light we spread today will be the beginning of another spark of radiance that will ripple for generations.
How do we honor both the light and the darkness today? “It is better to light one small candle than to curse the darkness.” – Eleanor Roosevelt
The bigger the darkness, the easier it is to spot our little light. Think of the visible star in a vast night sky. In contrast to the darkness, it is a speck of light, yet it has the power to light the way and shepherd generations safely to their destination. We must remember, that without the darkness, it is hard to see the cracks where the light pours through, in all its liquid glory. That is the vision that was held for each of us, or we would not be here today. That is the gift of February.
