Gather all the Burdens of the Year

Greetings!

Last Christmas my tree was decorated with beeswax candles. It was quite an awesome and peaceful sight to listen to the silence and watch the candles burn late into the night. Take a look at the whole tree here.

While driving home from teaching yoga last year NPR played a tune that has been in my ear since then. Here are the lyrics - come to class to place the song in your ear and celebrate the light with me over these next few days - see below.

AND of course we will practice Noelasana too.

The Coming of the Dawn

In the depths of this, the darkest night,
We celebrate our turning towards the light.
We gather all the burdens of the year,
and cast them out with reverence and good cheer
   Rejoice, rejoice, the ole year passes on
   We celebrate the coming of the dawn

Come and cast a circle all around,
and make within it this, our holy ground.
When we join hands, there is no first or last:
a bridge between the future and the past.
   Rejoice, rejoice, the ole year passes on
   We celebrate the coming of the dawn

Down many thousand years this night has been
a time to celebrate and start again,
to honor all of those that came before:
welcome all who pass in through our door!
Rejoice, rejoice, the ole year passes on
We celebrate the coming of the dawn

Music traditional, lyrics David Tamulevich and Michael Hough
copyright 2008, Mustard's Retreat Music, BMI