(Updated 12/22/20)
Thank you to all who came to celebrate the season on December 20th for the Intergenerational Winter Festival on Zoom. We gathered as an INTERGENERATIONAL ETHICAL COMMUNITY for a morning of poems & songs, joy & light to brighten our darkest season. The children of Ethical Culture shared “GIFTS & GRATITUDES, edited together by Amy Reid to light up the hearts of our whole community. Here is a video (modified) of Young Ethical Explorers’ 2020 memories through these pandemic times: Young Ethical Explorers 2020.
This season, many families may be seeking resources for home-bound holidays. From YEE’s treasure trove of original, creative holiday resources, developed over the past few years, let us offer THREE GIFTS OF THE SEASON to contribute to your households:
The first gift is a story in the tradition of the Solstice ~ the darkest eve of the year. Many stories and poems, like this one, animate earth, sun and nature to describe the way days will begin to grow 
lighter and lighter, after this dark night, officially December 21st. Here is the link to the story which you are welcome to read and enjoy: Solstice Story: Ethical Light.
The second gift is a song commissioned for last year’s Solstice, My Roots, when we dove deeply into the value of the darkness. It is written by artist Annie Lanzillotto of Street Cry Inc, who workshopped with YEE to bring out verses by young voices, and it was sung to the community exquisitely by vocal artist Bonita Oliver. Here is a rendition to take you through the solstice 2020!
Finally, the third gift is the GIFT OF YEE itself. YEE or Young Ethical Explorers, as a program supporting children’s growth in goodness beyond belief, is a gift to all families who choose to “open it.”
YEE is an offering from Ethical NYC to the world. If you are involved with Ethical, give a personal invitation to YEE as a gift to families you love. If you are new to Ethical, open this gift….contact the program organizer at YoungETHICALexplorers@gmail.com to join our group of diverse families and children. You are most welcome.
YEE (Young Ethical Explorers), ETHICAL NYC’s children’s group, cultivates a deep and mindful attention to the Earth, its seasons, its elements, its offerings, its care. Now, as we enter our darkest season, we have discussed the darkness and experienced diverse traditions of light, in response.
YEE began exploring light festivals and traditions with Diwali, led by Writefully Ours’ Deepali Srivastava. This event in November was YEE’s reunion in the Ethical building itself, after so many pandemic-months away. It lit up our hearts to be back there, together! Now we are back on Zoom, contemplating the big ethical questions of our times and the age-old seasonal themes of darkness and light. All the while, we gather consistently to light up each other’s hearts and lives!
We’ll close 2020 with some Kwaanza reflections lit up by our racial justice commitment — in a Zoom Room on Sunday, December 27. Contact YoungEthicalExplorers@gmail.com for the zoom link. All ages welcome.
May you and your family enter the new year with joy, safety and health.
Audrey Kindred, Ethical Education Program Director ~ YoungETHICALexplorers@gmail.com
