As a child growing up, my mom would say, “Let’s go to the beach so that we can wash off the crosses (bad luck) off us and renew our spirits”. This was done especially at the start of a new year or the end of an old one. I never questioned this because it seemed like a natural thing to do and I did love going to the beach!
As I grew up, this continued to be a part of our tradition. It’s what her parents did with her and her siblings and what she did with me and mine. It was also a part of the tradition of the people in my country. The ‘old folks’ would say from time to time to anyone who was having some bad luck in their lives, “just go to the beach and wash off that crosses that is following you”. Not only was swimming in the sea a renewal of the spirits, it was also a way to heal your body if you had any ailments. The times that my mom didn’t get to go to the beach with us, she would say, bring back some water (meaning the sea water) for her so she can take a bath, and we would!
I was watching a movie earlier today (me and those movies!) the main character, a woman, found out her mom was alive and well and living in Hawaii where she ended up on a visit, I won’t go into the story of the movie, however, one of the other characters in the movie told her to go to the beach and take a dip so she could renew her spirit. She was surprised at what he said, and he nodded to her and said that it was a tradition for them to do. So I guess that was not so strange after all, that my mom and her mom and all the other moms in my country would do that! Although it was only a movie, it didn’t seem so strange to me after all!
Recently when I went to the beach I told my little one about it, although I knew she didn’t fully understood what I was telling her, it’s something that I have told her two older siblings before, though I doubt that they remember! When we lived in NY we didn’t go to the beach a lot, but now that we are in a warm climate with many beaches around us (albeit not too close), I plan on renewing some of the traditions I haven’t had a chance to do with them. I definitely think my mom was on the right track because that recent trip to the beach was so invigorating and did renew my spirits!