Blog entry

4th of July - Celebrate a Handmade Red, White and Blue Holiday!

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Preamble to the Declaration of Independence, written by Thomas Jefferson.

The 4th of July, also known as Independence Day or July 4th, has a tradition of celebrations goes back to the American Revolution.  When the initial battles of the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, very few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain.  But, by the middle of the following year, the idea of independence grew due to the growing hostility against draconian British laws and the spread of revolutionary sentiments, such as the pamphlet published in early 1776 by Thomas Paine, called “Common Sense.”

Happy Spring! Happy Easter!

The celebration of the return of  spring and Easter brings the promise that everything can begin again, of letting go of the old and embracing something new, of renewal of the self and of the earth, and of faith.  Just think of everything associated with spring and Easter: promise, resurrection, birth, new love, romance, nesting birds, butterflies, daffodils, tulips, peach blossoms and so many other cheerful flowers.