Since the weather is grey, foggy and more grey today, perfect time for a blog about the holidays in the city of all cities. It has been really interesting for me to experience the diversity of religion with regards to the holidays in NY - Hanukkah already started on the 9th of December and should be ending today. Recently I learned all about the wonder of Hanukkah where the oil was only going to last for one night but the candles ended up lasting for 8 nights instead. Apparently it really isn't the biggest holiday for the Jews though - Yom Kippur which usually falls in September or October is... I also learned about a tribute to the African American heritage that some people celebrate here. At the same time most people in New York still seem to be excited about Christmas and if only because they get a few days off...
I went up to Harlem yesterday to help with making sandwiches, packing fruits, preparing blankets to give homeless and less fortunate citizens a little bit of a Christmas gift. We started by making each and every plastic bag that the sandwiches were to be packaged in a little piece of art. Writing some holiday messages, drawing lots of xmas trees, snowmen and other naive illustrations and getting instructions from a 7-year-old, I really had a lot of fun. The painting of the plastic bags is part of the whole approach of making this a more 'respectful' soup kitchen and actually, genuinely trying to give these people a little piece of happiness was what impressed me the most.
Once all the sandwiches were made, really nice wheat bread with nuts and raisins as well as cranberries, spicy mustard and delicious pastrami (or at least so I hear) and the fruit (yummy grapes and pears) were packed, we went out to first serve some hot cider for those already in line. Making sure everyone had a feeling of belonging there, every person got a name tag in order to be able to address each other with their first names and some of those waiting in line were pulled out to help the others serve and hand out blankets. That way the lines of those receiving something and giving something were starting to blur and in the end I think that's the way it should be, because asking those who volunteer, you start to realize they don't do it because they want to give but rather because they love to receive so much in return...
A really mind opening and expanding experience. One of the guys told me that they absolutely needed a warm blanket because the heat was not working properly in the project he lived and one of the women just absolutely loved my Christmas antlers and could not stop laughing about them - what a mixture of people - and amazing how much need there is for the most basic things, such as warm blankets to keep you warm in the winter...
I went up to Harlem yesterday to help with making sandwiches, packing fruits, preparing blankets to give homeless and less fortunate citizens a little bit of a Christmas gift. We started by making each and every plastic bag that the sandwiches were to be packaged in a little piece of art. Writing some holiday messages, drawing lots of xmas trees, snowmen and other naive illustrations and getting instructions from a 7-year-old, I really had a lot of fun. The painting of the plastic bags is part of the whole approach of making this a more 'respectful' soup kitchen and actually, genuinely trying to give these people a little piece of happiness was what impressed me the most.
Once all the sandwiches were made, really nice wheat bread with nuts and raisins as well as cranberries, spicy mustard and delicious pastrami (or at least so I hear) and the fruit (yummy grapes and pears) were packed, we went out to first serve some hot cider for those already in line. Making sure everyone had a feeling of belonging there, every person got a name tag in order to be able to address each other with their first names and some of those waiting in line were pulled out to help the others serve and hand out blankets. That way the lines of those receiving something and giving something were starting to blur and in the end I think that's the way it should be, because asking those who volunteer, you start to realize they don't do it because they want to give but rather because they love to receive so much in return...
A really mind opening and expanding experience. One of the guys told me that they absolutely needed a warm blanket because the heat was not working properly in the project he lived and one of the women just absolutely loved my Christmas antlers and could not stop laughing about them - what a mixture of people - and amazing how much need there is for the most basic things, such as warm blankets to keep you warm in the winter...
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