Ceremonials of Common Days

by Abbie Graham

"Ceremonial may be interpreted as a spiritual obeisance to the created beauty of the world." So writes Abbie Graham in the Foreword to her Ceremonials of Common Days . In this succinct yet surprisingly profound work, Graham demonstrates this same "obeisance to beauty" in her own artful writing on the special celebrations, festivities, and traditions accompanying the four seasons. Looking not with the modern eye (which views such things as little more than random, culturally produced rituals) but instead, dusting off and polishing such seemingly insignificant ceremonies to a renewed luster, Graham highlights their vibrantly wondrous and organic connection with our experience of nature, the seasons, and ultimately, God Himself. This gem of a book encourages us to pause in wonder at the simple pleasures and passing moments that help to make up our everyday writing letters, taking walks, morning coffee; how a rainy day interrupts our breakneck lives, so we can turn its slower pace to such soul-sustaining things as reading a book, sharing tea with a friend, paying mind to the miracle of spring radishes, or crisp new writing paper inviting the touch of our creative pen. Originally published in 1922, this forgotten treasure is a timely, welcome nostrum to refresh and fortify us amid the dizzying distractions of our postmodern lives. May it wash the dust of routine and oppressive interruptions alike from the windowpanes of our twenty-first-century souls, so we can stand again in awe of the freely-bestowed blessing of each passing day.

Genres: Self Help, Inspirational, Nonfiction

110 pages, Hardcover

Published October 29, 2021

Reviews

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a birthday gift and continues to be a gift every time I read it. Great little book full of simple yet fulfilling gems of "COMMON DAYS."
I'm lucky enough to have a 1923 edition which made this book all the more special.

From the Publisher
This neglected gem, first published by The Woman's Press in 1922 and undeservedly forgotten, is one woman’s book of common prayer, celebrating the pleasures, pastimes, and rites of passage that inform her year. From holidays to the turning of the seasons, from walking to train travel, from ink to coffee, Graham ponders the “Wonder of Common Days,” investing her favorite thoughts and activities with a spiritual significance that is unassuming yet unexpectedly profound. Filled with faith and fancy, and with fine attention to the hidden meanings of the simple things that feed the soul, Graham’s small volume will help readers to honor the blessings of their own days.

[Tess · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a hidden gem -- an exquisite little book published in the early 1920's. Small, but profound. A spiritual, not religious, rumination on the meaning of small moments and, in the bigger picture, of life itself. I read it in hardback, a signed edition from 1928.

[Faye · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful small essays on life. Written almost 100 years ago, but surprisingly contemporary and relevant.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This seems like it could have been written by Anne Shirley.