Last week, I had the privilege of attending a Blessingway. Don’t worry if you have no idea what a blessingway is – until I received the 
invitation, I didn’t either.
Just so we’re all up to speed: a blessingway is NOT a religious ritual or a gathering of folks with allergies. It IS a ceremony based on ancient Navajo tradition, celebrating a woman’s transition into motherhood. There were many things I loved about the blessingway. In no particular order:
1. It was a non-commercial celebration. Unlike its newer and kitschier counterpart, the baby shower, this celebration did not focus on the giving and receiving of store bought items for a baby which will, in all likelihood, have too many toys and clothes. Instead, guests were encouraged to bring a small gift for the expectant mother, a gift she could use or enjoy shortly before or after birth. Like tea. Or a homemade, heartfelt card.
2. It was steeped in ritual. While I guess you could say the ‘guess what chocolate bar is smooshed in the diaper’ game often played at baby showers is a ritual of sorts (what kind of ritual, I dare not even guess), this blessingway included many spiritually-rich activities, including sage burning and a candle ceremony.
3. We sang. It’s not very often a group of strong, caring women get to hold hands and sing. While we were promised that we weren’t going to have to “go there” beforehand, in hindsight I’m glad we did. While I’m all for equality, there is something deeply magical and humbling about embracing and rejoicing in what it means to be a woman, surrounded by women. That sort of thing just needs to happen more often.
4. The focus was on the mother-to-be. During pregnancy, everything is about the baby. This is certainly expected and wholly necessary. That being said, this ceremony gave us all the opportunity to celebrate not just the child that is about to be born, but the woman who is about to give birth.
So there it is. The blessingway. So often, a pregnancy is consumed by medical checkups, commercial purchases, and daily chores and activities that need to be taken care of in preparation of the birth. To be able to put all of that aside, if only for a few hours, was a wonderful gift to the mother and those closest to her.