“Welcome in another year and let the old one burn…..All the hungry spirits will be coming by tonight….pour them a glass of whiskey greet them all by name…..give them your blessing but do not let them stay, beat on the cans and pots and pans and send them on their way.” Zoe Mulford
When Jon and I started having Bonfires on the Winter Solstice it was because I was looking for meaning beyond Christmas which I always struggled to understand. Having a fire on the shortest night of the year, to light it up and bring hope for the coming months made sense to me.
Then we had a Summer Solstice Bonfire although if you asked me, I’d only be able to say we had it to welcome in the change of season.
We continued with the Bonfires on the Winter and Summer Solstice until it became a tradition. One that even Jon, who was at first skeptical, began to look forward to.
This year the Summer Solstice bonfire felt different to me. As if the fire was a way of burning off old unwanted beliefs and ideas. It felt to me like this longest day was the real end of the year. The next day being the beginning of a new one.
This morning, Bev, who owns Carroll’s Trading Post, the consignment shop in town, texted me a song by Zoe Mulford called Welcome in Another Year.
Bev said she first heard it when she was working at a Church where Mulford was performing. “I used to play it loud when we had our family bonfires years ago,” she wrote.
I cried when I listened to the song this morning. Then I played it for Jon and cried again.
Sometimes we do something without knowing exactly why we’re doing it. But we keep doing it because of how it feels, even if we can’t explain it. Then one day the reason reveals itself.
In a way, it’s like making art, like trusting the process. This is what happened during our bonfire on Tuesday. But I came to real understanding when I heard Mulford’s song.
Now I know why we have our Summer Solstice Bonfires. And next year, I’ll be a little more prepared to “Welcome in another year and let the old one burn.”
“Welcome in another year and let the old one burn…..All the hungry spirits will be coming by tonight….pour them a glass of whiskey greet them all by name…..give them your blessing but do not let them stay, beat on the cans and pots and pans and send them on their way.”
Beautiful music!
Yes, Becky, I think so too!
Hi, Maria – I’m so glad you found my song and that it spoke to you! Thanks to Bev for getting it to you and to you for sharing it. One of the things I was thinking about when I wrote it was that people in different cultures mark the New Year at different points on the calendar – but that lots of New Year traditions involve fire. I hope you and Jon have many more bonfires.
Zoe, thank you for your music. That makes sense about the new year and fire. I think from now on the spring solstice will be my new year. And I will play your song every year.