As I’ve worked on ‘Longing for Home’ I’ve been thinking alot about what my ancestors left behind. Some of the things I’m glad stayed in the old country. Things like social strata that couldn’t be broken – wherever you were born to was where you stayed. And grinding poverty – that was good to leave behind too. I’m glad that my trouble is having too much weight, not starving in a potato famine like my Irish ancestors. It is good that they were able to leave for a better life, and I’m certainly a grateful recipient of their courage.
However, they left so much behind. Maybe part of the reason I’m looking into my family history and cultural heritage so much is that I want to re-discover the traditions that helped my ancestors stay connected to each other and the earth. The Slovenes and the Irish had so many ways to participate in the seasonal pulse of life and honor the earth.
Maybe knowing more of these traditions will help me feel more rooted. So in this blog I plan to spend more time exploring the traditional celebrations that were meaningful to my ancestors.
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