Happy New Year, trees!

Yesterday, C and I went to a Tu B'Shevat seder at our synagogue. It began with a guided imagery, in which we were guided to imagine ourselves as seeds growing into trees (and if that sounds cheesy, it really wasn't), and from there, we moved, physically and mentally, into the seder itself, which involved readings, music, fruit and wine.

(I think all seders, for any occasion, involve wine. I expect to not be disabused of that notion.)

The seder itself went through the seasons of the year, and for each season, we drank a different wine (starting with autumn: white, white-with-a-little-red, red-with-a-little-white, red) and ate a different fruit (fruits with hard shells but soft insides [e.g. almonds]; fruits with edible seeds [e.g. pomegranates] fruits with edible outsides but something inedible inside [e.g. olives, dates], wholly edible fruits [e.g. figs, berries]).

I think. Did I mention that I'm doing this from memory and there were four cups of wine? Also, I'm not quite sure how the miniature apple strudels fit into this scenario, but they were rather tasty.

Anyway, where we live is in a cold snap right now, so it was quite lovely to be in a warm synagogue with friends and food, celebrating nature and knowing that soon, it will be warm enough outside to properly appreciate the cycle of the seasons again.