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It seems sad
that we are gradually losing so many of our traditions and
ceremonies in modern day Britain, which was brought to mind
this week on Shrove Tuesday. Little seemed to be
happening in the town, the local media hardly reported
Shrove Tuesday, and at the Rectory it passed by without even
making any pancakes.
Shrove
Tuesday, so loved by English speaking countries and the
Mardi Gras in many south American Countries ought to be a
special day as we prepare for the season of Lent. However
we seemed to have muddled up so many customs, with hot cross
buns being sold all the year round, Christmas cakes
available whenever you like, and Cadbury’s Easter mini eggs
sold everywhere.
As children
we went from one season to another mixing Christian and non
Christian events such as Mothering Sunday and then followed
by Maypole dancing. Now St Valentine’s Day and Mothering
Sunday are just an excuse for supermarkets making extra
money in selling flowers, and Easter has become a time when
shops compete to the sell the cheapest Easter eggs.
One of the
tasks of the clergy is to explain why ceremonies take place
and encourage the real meaning of Festivals. So as we began
Lent with the Ash Wednesday communion service, we burnt the
entire palm crosses from last year and mixed with a mixture
of ash and holy oil this was used to mark all those who
came to the service, as an act of penitence. Although I am
not a high church clergyman I do value this simple act as it
reminds us that we are beginning an important season of
preparation for Easter.
So I would
encourage anyone reading this , ‘Thought for the week’ , to
use the simple occasions we have to bring meaning to life.
Look back at cards and letters sent by Victorian lovers on
St Valentine’s Day, and compare them to the cheaply produced
gaudy cards that you can buy today, and you will see that we
may have progressed in so many ways, but something has been
lost along the way.
The church
by its nature is always a step behind society, just to
remind society what we may have lost. I look upon myself as
the collector and preserver of information, rituals and
ceremonies of day past so that the future generation may
know why we undertake rituals.
When I visit
homes, you see children busy on their lap tops playing
games, or watching the TV and little conversation taking
place. Few books are around the house, supper is in front of
the TV, and there is little interaction between people.
For me one
of the greatest sources of knowledge was my late grandfather
who taught me to see the signs of Spring in the garden, and
the way birds nested, showed me how to sow seeds and
prepare for a massive crop. In the Summer, supper was
cutting a lettuce or cucumber from the garden greenhouse,
lunch would be home made pie and cake. Throughout the year
Sunday was a lie in and then church, a lovely lunch and a
walk or slow drive in the countryside. A bedroom was a place
to whisper to others, and then go to sleep and dream – TV or
even toys were nowhere to be seen. Late Summer was a time to
prepare for winter, cut logs, make jams and pickles, mend
fences and prepare the ground. In Winter we would bring in
logs, walk to the shops for food, walk to school through the
snow and wash in cold water ! But we were very fit. I can’t
remember the school every closing because of snow. It was
cold, but we were thankful of stores put by, but we always
made sure to help neighbours in needs and gave clothes to
poorer families. Christmas was the most wonderful time of
the year – making cakes and puddings, making decorations or
opening boxes of decorations handed down from previous
generations. Rooms were full of warming fires and the smell
of logs fires was amazing.
Yesterday someone else born in
1948, came to see me. We both said that our years had been
the best ever. We had been so fortunate. In recent years of
so called prosperity, I think that we have lost so much and
gained so little.
Adrian Bell - Rector of Fakenham
Parish Church
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