We seem to be at a slight disadvantage or advantage in the Southern hemisphere. it depends on how you look at it i guess. we get to celebrate all the festivals twice. once, when the rest of the world celebrates them, and then once when the actual celebration makes sense. we just recently celebrated samhain /Halloween, as we are entering into winter. celebrating the ancient tradition, without death there cannot be rebirth. the veil between the living and the dead at its thinnest, sharing memories of our ancestors and loved ones. we went to our family cemetery to pay respects and share stories with our children of their great grandparents. we marvelled at the beauty and reverence of our surroundings, and placed small stones on the gravesides that spoke to our hearts. a beautiful autumn day!
Our heritage is like a patchwork quilt. We are half Afrikaans, one quarter Portuguese and one quarter English. This helps in teaching acceptance and tolerance to the children, as our ancestors were all at war with each other at one point or other in history. My husband told us a story about his Great grandfather who was 5 years old at the time on his family farm. He was playing outside when a soldier appeared on his horse, and almost ran the little boy down. He demanded to know where the owner of the farm was. The little boy watched in terror as the soldiers stole all the live stock, but luckily left the farmhouse untouched. There was a section of the graveyard dedicated to Afrikaans victims of the concentration camps. As the soldier was an Englishman, this made for interesting discussions in the car on the way home.
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