Happy New Year!
I’ve been spending the last week thinking and meditating on my 2012 intentions and what I want to manifest next year in terms of teaching, my own practice, self growth, etc. But, what I’ve really been feeling into is how grateful I am for all that supports me, gives me strength, and helps me see my own identity. A lot of this has arisen from reflecting on how much I savor the Korean traditions that my family and I practice in celebrating the New Year.
New Years Altar
For us, New Years Day (whether its Lunar or American) is a time to honor those who have come before us– elders, the recently departed, and ancestors. When I was a kid, we would get dressed up in our traditional Korean outfits and go over to my aunt’s house for rituals and celebration. My aunt would prepare an altar with pictures of the departed, plates of delicious Korean food, a special rice cake and dumpling soup, fruits, and rice wine, and each of us would bow before the alter to show our respects. We would give pause to let the departed souls have the first helping of goodies, and then we got to eat (and let me tell you, my aunt makes the best Korean food ever). Later, we would bow to our parents and other elders to wish them many blessings for the New Year. In return, they gave us envelopes of money (this was the best part). Nowadays, we don’t get dressed up or get money in return for bows, but we still prepare an altar and eat in remembrance of our family.
This year, as I enjoy the homemade everything that my aunt prepares, I better appreciate this part of me – my cultural heritage and its traditions – as an anchor that helps defines who I am. I enjoy taking the time at the start of a new year to honor my family members, some of whom I’ve never even met, that in some way have made it possible for me to be HERE. As the flow of life sweeps me forward, I may forget about them from time to time, but I know that I will get to remember them at the turn of every year, and that they will give me strength to be who I am today, who I will be tomorrow, and who I will be at the end of another year.
Happy New Year!
