Throughout human existence, people have marked the passing of time. The ability to correctly track the annual return of the cycles of nature gave the distinct advantage of being able to effectively plan and prepare for the future.

Knowing with some certainty when the birds and herds migrated and when they could be expected back, when the fruits ripened and the grasses grew, when the nuts were ready for gathering, when the river rose and flooded, when the rains came, when it was likely to get cold again, simply meant survival.

From the earliest ice ages there are examples of crude calendrical reckonings, bone and stone renderings of the regularly occurring astronomical cycles: the phases of the moon, the ascendance and changing position of certain stars and constellations, as well as the daily and annual disappearance and reappearance of the sun. Incised, chipped, carved and painted, these symbols attest to the astute observation skills of our ancestors.

The special days that announce the advance and retreat of the sun, moon and stars were not merely noted, they were celebrated — marked by ceremony as well as graven in stone. The recurrence of these Celestially Auspicious Occasions served as significant milestones with which people were able to measure the cycle of the seasons and the seasons of their lives.

Ultimately, people kept track of time in order to live in tune with it.

Though few people in today’s crowded cacophonous urban world live anymore in such focused alignment with the earth, the holidays we celebrate are the living legacy of these oldest seasonal observances. In some cases, the days are still holy, the original intentions and primal power of the occasion still manifest. In most cases, however, the shell of the celebration has been maintained, while its soul has been modernized, sanitized, secularized and commercialized beyond recognition, their original function forgotten.

It is the indigenous peoples of the world, who, clinging tenaciously to the sanity and wisdom which they have inherited, persist in their perception of a passionate and participatory universe — a universe in which everything is intricately and inextricably interconnected. This sanctified collaboration with the cosmos creates a consciousness of a sacred reality, which endures in many tribal communities throughout the world even today. During the course of my research for my books and articles, I came to speak with Doris Leedercharge at the Lakota Sinte Glesko College on the Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South Dakota. I told her that I wanted to include as many Native American holy days as possible, and she replied, “According to our religion, every day is holy!”

It is this transcendent recognition of the sacred, this transformation of vision, which allows the inherent, hidden divinity in all things to become apparent. We, alas, as a culture, have lost the ability, the facility, the talent for such crystal insight. It is our challenge as hectic, driven people to charge our common dailiness with that same transcendent clarity. Our reward is to see the ordinary as special and the special extraordinary. And to know that every day is most certainly holy.

Donna Henes is a popular spiritual teacher and counselor and the award-winning author of four books about multicultural ritual practice. She also writes for the Huffington Post, Beliefnet, and UPI Religion & Spirituality Forum. Mama Donna, as she is affectionately called, maintains a ceremonial center, spirit shop, ritual practice and consultancy in Exotic Brooklyn, NY where she works with individuals, groups, institutions, municipalities and corporations to create meaningful ceremonies for every imaginable occasion. www.DonnaHenes.net. Email: TheQueenOfMySelf@aol.com.