While I was raking up fallen leaves in the yard recently, a passerby stopped to talk.
This lady was from India, and was curious about why Canadians raked up leaves each fall. Was it some cultural tradition of ours, she asked, a ritual that we enjoyed doing?
I smiled at her mistaken assumption, but explained that if we didn’t rake up the leaves, the lawn underneath would die. With a blanket of leaves blocking the sun and air, the grass would be smothered.
We’re certainly not raking up dozens of bags of leaves because it’s fun!
Our conversation got me thinking about rituals, and how we sometimes need to explain them to puzzled outsiders.
Why do kids dress up in outlandish costumes on Halloween and go door to door asking for candy?
Why do we decorate a tree in our homes at Christmas?
And why do Christians have bread and wine at Communion? Is it because they get hungry and need a snack partway through a church service?
Like Lucy in the old sitcom, we have some explaining to do…
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The Faith Cafe 
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