Cheers! To Your Health!
I was wondering about how we toast one another
during the holidays and especially it seems on New Year’s Eve. We often say "Cheers!"
and of course that is a pleasant greeting but where did it start and what does
it mean?
Well many opinions are out there about why we
offer a 'toast'. Some say it was ancient Greek and the pouring of the first sip
of a beverage was offered to the gods and that now the sip is symbolically
offered to a friend, to the guest of honor, or to the overall assembly- to
your health and happiness, to a successful venture etc. Even though we take the sip ourselves, the
toast is the offering. The word Cheers! then has a history in France
before the 18th C of meaning 'face'. I like that because when toasting or
saying the word "cheers" your eyes meet, all heads up and focused on
each face in turn, sometimes the glasses are clinked to show present in the
moment. It is a moment of real recognition to each individual in that moment. Interestingly,
the television show "Cheers" features a song lyric- 'where everybody
knows your name'. That fits with seeing fully someone's identity, what a great
respect that is.
I still have an old Valentine (very fancy,
Victorian cut outs with flowers and honey sweet sentiments) that my grandfather
had given his young spinster sister back in the 20's. Remembering how much time it took him to get ready
to go to town and the thrifty (poor) fellow he was, such an elaborate card
would have represented great thought, feeling and effort on his part to get
something so beautiful. In general, he came across as a rough and tough sort of
guy, but he had a sentimental side that revealed itself in gestures often
ignored by others.
It is a lazy habit to clump people into types or
categories because the opportunity to cultivate a fuller understanding is lost.
Not only is it unfair to the other person, but it is also really unfair when
you do it to yourself- when you allow a nickname or an aspect of yourself to
become your 'face'. You have a bigger face...so let people see it. Hold your
head up, look them in the eye; and to your health and progress- "Cheers!"
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