Today the children and youth joined the adults in the sanctuary for our annual forgiveness ritual. Afterwards, the children at 9:30 met together to do some forgiveness-themed crafts.
The forgiveness tokens can be given to someone to help in making an apology, or as a token of forgiveness, or as a reminder to carry around of the importance of making amends with others.
This honey pot was inspired by the Jewish tradition of dipping apples in honey to celebrate the new year, Rosh Hashanah. Apples and honey are a traditional treat on Rosh Hashanah, symbolizing the sweetness of a new year.
Rosh Hashanah, the celebration of the new year, is followed ten days later by Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. During these ten days, the Days of Awe, Jewish people work to set things right in their relationships with others and with God.
Here are some possible uses for this honey pot your child has made. Maybe you will think of others:
- At dinner time (or another time when you are together as a family) pass the pot around. Have each person take an apple and share a wish with everyone for the coming year. Encourage wishes for the good of the family as a whole.
- You and your child could use the apples to talk about things you are sorry for or want to forgive someone for. Each apple represents a member of your family. Take turns considering each apple and the person it represents. Is there anything you need to do to set things right with that person? (Is there something you’d like to apologize for, or something you’d like to forgive them for?)
The most important custom of the Days of Awe is to apologize to others for things we have done to offend them in the past year. The desire to have a fresh start and to repair relationships is universal. Like our Jewish friends, we Unitarian Universalists believe in forgiving others, and in trying to right the wrongs we have done.
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