New Traditions Born from Longstanding Experiences
Sometimes new traditions are born out of longstanding experiences. For example, have you ever stared at a fire and watched the embers float to the sky? Maybe you’ve tossed in a dry leaf or pinecone to see what would happen. Every once in a while something creates a spark and a crackle as the heat transforms and new energy is released. There is an emotion attached to the experience – like an emerging hope or a spark of new beginnings.
A few summers ago, the Owls came to Sandy with an idea for a new tradition that embodies this experience – Spark Night.
How Spark Night Works
During Spark Night, campers go on a short evening hike and gather at Camp Cormier around a large bonfire. They contemplate something they want to change or let go of in their lives. Each camper writes what their “unwanted thing” is on a piece of paper. The campers approach the fire alongside their cabinmates and throw their personal papers into the flame. As they toss their papers, they make a commitment to let go of a habit, expectation, or negative feelings and replace it with a positive intention.
As each camper contemplates their “something new” she grabs a handful of sugar. In unison the group tosses their sugar and repeats aloud the mantra “spark new beginnings.” The sugar creates a beautiful spark from the fire.
Creating Belonging Around the Bonfire
Meanwhile, before the campers arrived at Camp Cormier, the Owl cabin created individually decorated stars for each camper and hung them from branches on nearby trees. After the campers make their intentions and throw the sugar, they hike through the woods to find their handmaid sparkling stars to help them remember their new commitment. You can feel the change in energy! Campers are helping each other find their stars and express genuine gratitude to the Owls when they find their own star. This is community building in action! Coming together to acknowledge each other’s authentic selves and support each other. At camp, traditions like this build a strong sense of belonging and community.
Spark New Beginnings
It is a beautiful night of self-reflection and community. We all are working on self-improvement. Maybe there are relationships we could be investing more time and energy into. Or we want to push ourselves to work on a skill more regularly. Maybe we had an exchange with a peer that we wish we could redo. Or we’ve said something to a family member that we regret.
Taking time to self-reflect and purposefully directing the energy to hopeful rebirth is a really special and productive exercise for campers. We recognize our own imperfections while supporting each other in the community of strong girls that we are!
Traditions – New and Old – Build Community!
Camp Jeanne d’Arc has some traditions that are almost a century old – Wishing Night, Christmas in July, Feather Picking. Other traditions emerged over time like Smugglers and Banquet Night Shields. Spark Night is Camp Jeanne d’Arc’s newest tradition. But if you are lucky enough to experience Spark Night, it feels like a tradition that has been around forever. Why? Because it is a night that brings the Camp community together. Campers eagerly anticipate the night and they treat the evening’s activities with reverence and excitement. It’s like they recognize that this part – the building of the Camp community – is what makes the night so memorable!