Celebrations

As I shared earlier in the year, I recently celebrated a decade birthday. It was basically a quiet day, with many well wishes sent to my, either on Facebook or through texts, or even in person! We’re also celebrating our second (yay!) wedding anniversary, and the end of the month will see yet another birthday celebration in this household.

The word nerd in me checked out the origin of word celebrate. In the mid-1550s the word meant “to perform publicly with appropriate rites,” originally for the service of Mass. The word itself is from the Latin (surprise!) celebrates, or much-frequented; kept solemn; famous. Later meanings were for happier events, to sing praises, although when, why, and how this change came about is unknown.

These days, to celebrate is to recognize a notable event (such as a birthday or anniversary) by doing something special or enjoyable. Most celebrations these days involve a number of people, lots of food, and well wishes for the honored individual. While celebrations usually are for a specific event, there’s something to be said for a spontaneous get-together, simply for the joy of being with others.

What events constitute celebrations? We celebrate births and birthdays, graduations, promotions, holidays, sunny days, snow days – just about anything is cause for celebration.

How do you celebrate? We generally think of celebrations as loud and lively and with lots of people and lots of laughter. Much energy is expended in both the preparation and the implementation of the event.

I sometimes wonder if Adam and Eve and early – really early - civilizations celebrated? Historians tell us that much of those times were spent simply in surviving. We do know that they, too, found cause to revel in the delights of their lives, including the changing of the seasons, and for special religious holidays.

Celebrations are a part of our life. But how do you celebrate when your life is in chaos? Can you celebrate when the trials of life seem to overwhelm even our ability to breathe? I maintain that those moments in our lives should be celebrated, albeit in a different manner. Those are the times when each small accomplishment is cause for celebration: I got out of bed. I washed the dishes. I prepared a meal for myself, and perhaps for others. Those celebrations may be as fleeting as smiling at ourselves in the mirror – or at someone at work or in the grocery store. Sharing that little bit of time and life can make all the difference.

Can you celebrate alone? Absolutely. We all know that being alone and being lonely are totally different circumstances but both lend themselves to looking into who we truly are to improve our situation. When I was single I came to learn that it is truly the little things that can mean the most. A sunrise or sunset was and is a celebration of another day, the beauty of a flower is a delight. Strive, every day, to do better than the day before, to take a deep breath and think through the current state of our emotions and know that life will be better. Taking stock of what went well yesterday or today can elevate your mood. Maybe not in the next hour or day or even week, but, historically, we move from sadness and possible mayhem to calm and serenity and peace. That, too, is cause for celebration.

So, celebrate, the little and the big things in your life. We need celebrations to remind us that there is much good and happiness in our world today. Remember to celebrate you, and to find joy in the simplicity of your day-to-day life. That’s really all that matters.