Graceday!

When is Graceday?

Graceday is January 15. The middle of the darkest coldest month of the year. The time of the year when we can all use a little grace. Graceday requires some preparation during the first 14 days of the month because of the unique ways of celebrating.

What is Graceday?

Graceday is a day to freely give and receive favors and undeserved help. It’s a day when we give others a little slack, we step aside and let someone go first in line, and a dayto forgive others before they ask. Graceday is a time for us to graciously accept favors for ourselves.

On Graceday, work comes to a halt, so everyone can participate. All stores are closed, even gas stations, so gas up before January 15, if you plan to travel. Electronic entertainment pauses on Graceday: no TV, no social media, no internet usage. Make way for lots of singing and live music playing. And dancing! Always dancing on Graceday.

It can get a little chaotic on Graceday. People must receive favors, too. You have 15 days to prepare and one day for undeserved help. So, get ready!

What do we eat on Graceday?

Graceday food is prepared in the days after New Years Day and preserved in such a way that minimal work is required on January 15th. Childhood favorites, comfort food, and desserts of all sorts are served on Graceday.

Ideally, new people are invited to our tables: people we’ve been meaning to invite, but something always got in the way; people who serve us daily that we want to recognize; or perhaps a stranger we pass everyday on the way to work or school.

Are there special songs for Graceday?

Any song that celebrate giving and receiving favors and undeserved help. Just like “Jingle Bells,” and “Silent Night,” there are some songs everyone recognizes. Like these Graceday songs:

Others include:

• Cold Play, “All My Love”
• Bruno Mars, “Count on Me”
• “Kindness Boomerang, “One Day”
• Matthew West, “Do Something”

What would you do on Graceday?