The snow is falling and it reminds me that Winter is a time for telling stories. In some traditions, stories are only told in the period between the first snow and the last snow of the season.
During the Spring, Summer and early Fall, communities were busy hunting and growing food so there was little opportunity for storytelling. In the winter when thedays were shorter and the ground was frozen with ice and snow, people stayed inside to keep warm. The gathering of family encouraged the sharing of stories. Stories entertained, shared traditions and taught morals.
Traditional stories also had a lot of animals in them. It was respectful to tell animal stories when the animals weren’t around to hear them.
There were Sacred stories too. The sacredness of each tribe was embodied in their stories and these stories could only be shared by tribal members. The sacredness of all cultures and their stories should be respected. What are your sacred stories?
A thought for Your Day:
“Stories have to be told or
they die, and when they die, we can't remember who we are or why we're here.”
― Sue Monk Kidd,
The Secret Life of Bees
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