Full moon

Full moon

 Yesterday was the feast of St. Barbara. It's a big feast here in the Middle East. Families cook beans, fried fruit into a mushy pulp then add sugary sweets and nuts. Children dress up in costumes and parade through the streets. They even go to school in costumes. Mums and grandmas will place grains on wet cotton in plates and wait for it to grow, then they're placed on the Christmas crib as grass and decoration.

So why all these popular traditions?

They're linked to legends of the life of St. Barbara. Dressing in costumes celebrate the escape of St. Barbara from persecutors when she disguised herself, And as she ran away through the fields, grass and plants sprouted to cover her footprints. Hence families plant seeds and grain which in a month, on Christmas Day, will be tall enough to decorate the crib. It's a festive day to commemorate St. Barbara ... but deep in our minds, it's a sign that the end of the year is near. winter is upon us, the cold is getting intense.

And the penultimate full moon of 2025 is shining brightly these few nights. The air is so clear and crisp that the moon appears with a full halo. It's beautiful but also sad ... it reminds that even this will pass away. Time marches forward and everything becomes only a memory.