Dear friends of Dancing Rabbit,

Every faith with which I have even passing familiarity has its own tradition of gift-giving, celebration and remembrance. Whether you observe Hanukkah, Christmas, Eid al-Adha, or Kwanzaa, chances are your own family has developed beloved traditions of your own within the context of that annual celebration. In my own family, this has been accompanied by reflection on what gives our relationships meaning and how we can individually honor what we see and value in each other. This has meant that gift-giving usually includes more than just socks (even if hand-knit and much needed and loved) and carefully selected books. These external gifts, often in the form of a donation to a particular cause or charity, have been our way to show each other our love by caring for the very things we believe in most, while avoiding the pitfalls of holiday shopping crowds and the endless acquisition of more “stuff.”

I have found these gifts in my name, whether in support of an animal shelter or for improved medical access for underserved communities, to be among the most valued and appreciated each year. Don’t get me wrong, those socks are rockin’ and yet those donations speak loudest and most clearly. I feel both seen and supported in my core values. What a gift that is!

One of my personal favorite activities each Christmas season is to haul out the ancestral cookie recipes, and the cookie cutters handed down alongside them. There’s something comforting in that sense of continuity across the years as I labor over the lebkuken (honey cookies) as my great-grandmother did, and probably her mother and grandmother before her. This recipe recalls a time when spices like cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and cardamom were exotic rarities and were only used for the most special of occasions. We now take such things for granted, and I appreciate the reminder of how wondrous such things really are.

I always start with the lebkuken, then, just as my own grandmother acquired new favorite Christmas cookie traditions from fellow immigrants between the wars, I move on to hazelnut cookies (from Czechoslovakia) and an almond/apricot pastry (from Hungary) before finishing up with the more familiar sugar cookies and my most recent addition to the repertoire: spekulas shortbread. Of course, depending on which kids are home for the holidays, they may insist on helping make batches of other personal favorites as well.

This embarrassment of cookies (we can’t possibly eat all of them ourselves, though when younger, the kids were game to try) dovetails nicely with my family tradition of sending packages of these assorted tokens of celebration to friends and acquaintances whom we remember with particular appreciation or gratitude this year.

On this Christmas Eve we’re asking you to give a gift of appreciation for that special person on your list who values and believes in what Dancing Rabbit is working to share with the world. Thanks to some very special donors (cookies are coming your way) we are able to triple match all donations up to $9,250 so your give will go even further toward supporting our educational programs, providing scholarships for even more individuals to experience all that Dancing Rabbit has to offer.

Your magnified gifts will in turn help us to continue our tradition of providing an inclusive, welcoming experience for everyone who comes seeking a more sustainable way of living with the planet and with each other, and of sharing our experiences so that others may take similar action wherever they may be.  

Half of all funds raised will be put toward heating system improvements in the Milkweed Mercantile, our flagship strawbale inn and core support infrastructure for housing and feeding the many program participants, guests, and family members who visit each year. 

As you are reading this email, I’m getting ready to host my traditional Christmas Eve dessert potluck at Thistledown, my home at Dancing Rabbit, where hopefully most of the remaining cookies will fill other bellies and waistlines. My evening will close with a simulcast of A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from my home church in Rochester, NY at 11pm, Eastern Time. Feel free to listen and sing along with me at: www.wxxiclassical.org.

May your holidays be filled with the joy and light of your traditions, both old and new.

Cob Carleton