Holiday: Closing the Season
December 21st (Winter Solstice)
The Closing the Season Holiday(sometimes called “Making Room”) is about celebrating the season’s hard work and welcoming the new season with a tidy, well-organized burrow. In preparation of the holiday (or fervently on the morning of), homes are scrupulously cleaned and de-cluttered. Homes are decorated with evergreen sprigs and the outside common areas between burrows have a large pinecone set up for the young buns to decorate together.
On the morning of the holiday itself, items that are no longer wanted are placed in front of the home where neighbors may come by to trade for or just be given the unwanted items. In fact, many bunnies spend most of the morning and afternoon traveling from burrow to burrow just to see what has been put out.
Once all excess items have been claimed, food tables are set up near the pinecones and all families present at least one dish to share. (Some of these dishes are what could be called “adventurous eating” because in order to clean the pantry, some odd items may end up in that pan!) After bunnies have more or less eaten their fill, it is time to light the pinecones.
The pinecones are carefully set ablaze and both acorns and marshmallows are roasted and eaten. Bunnies dance, chat, laugh, and often doze as they pass the time while the pinecones burns.
From the dying embers of the pinecone fire, families light a bundled bunch of dried pine needles and carry the smoke into every room of their burrow while thanking Nature for her blessings. This smoke “cleans the air” and hence is the last step before being ready to welcome in the new season!