Earth Day

If urban sprawl spread so far that most people lose all touch with nature?

Will the day come when the only bird a typical American child ever sees

is a canary in a pet shop window?

When the only wild animal he knows is a rat -

glimpsed on a night drive through some city slum?

When the only tree he touches

is the cleverly fabricated plastic evergreen

that shades his gifts on Christmas morning?

-- Frank N. Ikard--
North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference, Houston, March 1968 ~

Just as Her symbols have disappeared, so has any record of Gaia's feast days. Thus we can honor Her on any day we choose. And what would be more appropriate than Earth Day.  Today is Earth Day. Dedicated to the Earth Mother Gaia, this day marks the time we remember our responsibility toward the environment.  Of course, this is something that we should remember every day, but this day serves as a reminder to those who tend to forget. On Earth Day, people all over the world celebrate our planet and bring attention to the need to care about our environment.   

The following hymn to Gaia was written over 2500 years ago:

Gaia, mother of all,
I shall sing,
the strong foundation, the oldest one.
She feeds everything in the world.

Whoever walks upon her sacred ground
or moves through the sea,
or flies in the air, it is she
who nourishes you from her treasure-store.

Queen of Earth, through you
beautiful children,
beautiful harvests,
come.

It is you who give life to mortals
and who take life away.
Blessed is the one you honour with a willing heart.
He who has this has everything.

His fields thicken with life-giving corn,
his cattle grow heavy in the pastures,
his house brims over with good things.
The men are masters of their city,

the laws are just,
the women are fair,
great riches and fortune follow them.
Their sons delight in the ecstasy of youth,

their daughters play
in dances garlanded with flowers,
they skip happily on the grass
over soft flowers.

It was you who honoured them,
sacred goddess, generous spirit.
Farewell, mother of the gods,
bride of starry Heaven.

For my song, allow me a life
my heart loves.
And now I shall remember you
and another song too.

The first Earth Day was celebrated on April 22, 1970 to draw attention to the need to care for our planet.  Littering and pollution were becoming a problem in the United States and other places around the world.  People clear land to make room for farms, roads, and homes, and the animals who have homes on this land have become endangered.   In fact, many plant and animal species have or are in danger of becoming extinct due to this clearing of large areas of land. People were being wasteful and very few people recycled.  And, with so many people using so many materials, the number of garbage dumps and landfills has become huge.  On Earth Day, people celebrate our planet and bring awareness to the said state of Gaia.  

"First in my prayer, before all other deities,
I call upon Gaia, Primeval Prophetess . . .
The Greek great earth mother."
-Aeschylus-

But, the message of Earth Day is too important for only one day.  As her chilldren, we must help Mother Gaia all of the time.  Every day is Earth Day. 

It is imperative to maintain portions of the wilderness untouched

so that a tree will rot where it falls,

a waterfall will pour its curve without generating electricity,

a trumpeter swan may float on uncontaminated water

- and moderns may at least see

what their ancestors knew in their nerves and blood.

-- Bernand De Voto, Fortune, June 1947 --