Luminous Heart Reiki & Massage

There’s a lot going on today.

It’s a new moon, the one that marks the lunar new year. An Asian friend just explained the tradition of doing all the cleaning leading up to yesterday, and then resting. You don’t want to sweep away the good fortune of the new year, so there’s no cleaning today.

It’s also Fat Tuesday, the culmination of Mardi Gras. I understand it gets pretty rowdy down in New Orleans.

Ramadan begins tonight at sundown. I won’t claim to know much about this holiday, but I’m mentioning it because it shows the alignment of traditions from such a wide variety of backgrounds.

Did you know it’s also Fasnacht Day? I bet your calendar does not mark this occasion!

It’s a Pennsylvania Dutch tradition. (Dutch comes from “deutsch” the German word for “German”, and has nothing to do with Holland, btw. And since someone usually asks, it’s not the same thing as Amish.)

Just like Fat Tuesday, it’s the grand send-off before the first day of lent. Being much more conservative than our southern friends, we just eat donuts.

Yup. Fried dough.

Supposedly it originated in the desire to rid the pantry of the flour, sugar, butter, and lard that would be restricted during Lent.

Whatever your beliefs and dietary preferences, it’s hard not to note that today is a turning point.

While I will not be eating any Fasnachts myself, I will spend some time considering what I need to let go of in order to move forward into whatever comes next.

What do you have in your pantry that needs to be used up so you can step into the next chapter of your life?