Today is Saint Anna’s day. You may know her as Jesus’s grandma, as Anna and Joachim were the parents of Mary. Anna is not a flashy saint. She’s no Mary Magdalene (hubba hubba!) or John the Baptist. But for people named Anna, she’s a patron saint. And there may be others who choose her as their…
festivals
Let There Be Light!
I have a window of opportunity (that is to say, a sleeping baby) and I had an entirely different blog planned (fear not, it will make its appearance soon). But I keep getting messages about Diwali, the Indian festival of lights, and I am not one to ignore summons from the universe. First, a few…
‘Tis the Season
Having grown up in Athens–where there were ritual greetings for every occasion, including the first day of each month–and in New England, which does the change of the seasons more intensely than any other U.S. region I know, I’ve been missing Fall here in Miami Beach, which alternates between hot and rainy pretty much year…
New Year, New You
I feel like I’ve read (or written) that coverline on a magazine a million times. But it’s true, the dawning of a new year is a milestone that makes us, or at least me, consider what I was doing this time last year, and what, if anything, has changed over the past 12 months. The…
Of Holy Mothers and Floating Babies–or Waitin’, Wishin’, and a Hopin’
We’re officially on Amalía Watch 2011. I guess since she’s only going to be born once, it’s Amalía Watch, period, but I like the way Amalía Watch 2011 makes it sound that much more official, like an election or a hurricane. At 35 weeks, one of my doctors told me that given Amalía’s size, she…
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Sibling Revelry
Are you ready for Raksha Bandhan? It’s August 13th this year. I know, that’s 10 days away. But if you’re not Hindu, and this is your first Raksha Bandhan, you might need some time to prepare yourself to celebrate. The way I understand it, Raksha Bandhan is a celebration of siblings. It started out a…