Drake Bear Stephen Innerprizes

We are officially in the season of winter festivals of lights. The season kicked off with Diwali (Nov 10-14) that is celebrated by Hindus, Sikhs, Jains, and Buddhists. It is a celebration of light over darkness and good over evil. Burn the diya (a ritual dish filled with oil) for 5 days.

Next comes Chanukah (Dec 7-14), celebrated by Jews. It is a commemoration of the rededication of the Second Temple of Jerusalem. Burn the candles of the menorah for 8 nights.

Advent (Dec 3, 10, 17, & 24), celebrated by Christians, occurs on the 4 Sundays before Christmas. It is the anticipation and preparation for Christmas. Burn a candle mounted in a wreath on each Sunday.

On the Winter Solstice (Dec 21), also known as Yule by pagans, a Yule log is burned in the fireplace. After it burns out a piece is saved to put in the following year’s Yule fire. The Yule log replaces the bonfires that pagans used to burn on the longest night of the year to welcome the return of the light beginning at dawn and continuing until Summer Solstice.

Lastly, Kwanzaa (Dec 26-Jan 1), celebrated predominately by Afro-Americans. It is an adaptation from African harvest festival traditions. Burn a candle in the kinara for each of the 7 nights.
And if that is not enough candle burning, get some angel chimes that rotate and ring little bells when the 4 candles under them are lit. Mostly a Western European custom, I remember these from my childhood.

It is time to wear orange and stand in solidarity with survivors and all those that were/are impacted by the residential schools system.
Taking Native American children from their families and shipping them to residential schools is a form of cultural genocide. September 30 is a day of recognition and awareness. In Canada it is called the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. If you would like to get a t-shirt, button, cap, or to donate to this movement, check out these links:
Orange Shirt Society https://orangeshirtday.org/
Native Spirit Store www.nativespiritstores.com/
Etsy www.etsy.com

Tomorrow, July 14th, is International Non-Binary Peoples' Day. Binary gender identity only includes 2 options: male or female. Under the umbrella of "non-binary", there exists an entire spectrum of identities. This list of identities and their pride flags seem to grow each year. A Gallup Poll last year indicated that the number of people that identify as LGBT+ roughly doubles with each new generation. It is estimated that 50% of the Gen Z generation (born 1997-2012) believe the gender binary is outdated. Yet only 7 countries in the world (not including the US) allow gender-neutral passports and other legal docs. It is time to change our rules of etiquette. Let's stop automatically gendering people. We can begin by asking individuals what their preferred pronouns are.

Some English gender-neutral alternatives:
He/She = They
Him/Her = Them
His/Hers = Theirs
Ladies & Gentlemen = Distinguished Guests
Guys/Gals = Folks
Lady/Man = Person or Individual
Men/Women = Everyone
Mr./Mrs./Miss = Mx. (mix)
Sir/Ma’am or Madam = No neutral equivalent

Message me if you would like a pdf of all Gender Identities & Flags or all Sexual Identities & Flags.

Humans truly are like snowflakes. Each individual is unique because there are so many points of identity on so many spectrums of human experience. Yet we are all connected by a common thread, our hearts and souls. So let us honor diversity and practice inclusivity for we are all walking on this Sacred Earth together.