On 1st February 2025 we celebrated Imbolc and Lunar New Year!
It was the busiest community celebration up to date and we are so proud (and still a bit tired) of all the hard work and excitement poured into making this day so magnificent! Read below about our activities, rituals and successes of the day:
Dumpling Making Workshop
Partnering with wonderful Cadence from ELREC, and with the immense help from the Edinburgh based communities which celebrate Lunar New Year, we managed to produce 500 (!) hand made vegetarian dumplings and a hot and sour soup. The food was prepared with the guidance from our Eco-coordinator Gray who raised awareness about food waste and sustainability in food preparation. It was so lovely to see so many people join us for the meal – we didn’t have space for all the hungry souls in the Art Room, so people ate in the kitchen, Library, corridor. There was always someone looking for an extra bowl, and we even ran out of cutlery at one point! The Centre was filled with people from many backgrounds and of all ages and there were smiles all around! Not many things bring us together as much as appreciation and gratitude towards food and food sharing.
Korean Calligraphy
Our previous artist in residence, Elisabeth Landgraf, introduced us to Korean Calligraphy. We got an opportunity to learn more about the culture, philosophy and spirituality behind it, as well as dive straight into Korean grammar and calligraphy itself! We learned how to prepare ink, the correct order of writing letters, the importance of finding connection between our mind, hand and the brush we’re using. It was a highly meditative, explorative and unique experience.
Crafting Workshops
With the guidance from Sherry Wang and the members of our Ritual Coworking Group, participants got the opportunity to be playful and creative, as well as tune into their own and discover some new spiritual paths. We made Taiwanese wishing lanterns and St Brigid’s crosses using recycled materials. It was great being able to bring home these special ornaments created on the day, as well as learn new crafting methods using materials found in our homes.
Chinese Astrology and The Year of The Snake
Gail Burton is one of our Community Facilitators, who ran Chinese Astrology sessions in this Autumn/Winter programme. We asked her for some guidance about the upcoming year (The Year of the Snake!), and she shared with us how the year will impact our animal sign. We learned what to look out for, what to do less off, what to immerse ourselves in, and how best to manage our resources. We had a lot of fun learning more about our animal sign, and this Year of The Snake!
The Dance of Imbolc
We were honoured by a special visit from Phyllida Anam-Aire, a Celtic-Druidic priestess from Ireland. Phyllida held an Imbolc ceremony in which she taught us how to sing and dance in order to welcome Imbolc. What a truly special thing to witness!
Creativity for Everyday with the Norm Project
Ellie, Jorja and Rho – the three artists behind the Norm Project closed this wonderful day with explorations into drawing, dance and acting. Participants had the opportunity to awaken their inner child and artist through playful and creative exercises. We don’t get an opportunity to be creative in such a relaxed and supportive environment often, so these types of workshops are truly important.
What a day! We bet all who came for the celebrations slept well that night, ourselves included. Thank you everyone for this jam-packed day of making strong connections, honouring the changing seasons and celebrating the return of the light!