PeaceOneDay (http://www.peaceoneday.org) was started in 1999. Its aim is to create a genuine state of peace, for at least one day, with the knowledge that when we can do that, the experience seeps out of the boundaries of the day and begins to create a more lasting peace. The founder is Jeremy Gilley; you can read more about him in a BBC interview.
On 21 September 2006, 27.6 million people in over 200 countries joined the event. This year, on Sunday 21 September 2008, The Druid Network committed to creating events all over the world.
This year, 2008, PeaceOneDay reignited their campaign with a new twist : One Day One Goal. This aimed to encourage football matches to be played in every member state of the United Nations on Peace Day, Sunday 21 September 2008. Each match celebrated cooperation, unity and the power of football to bring people together.
Events reports and pictures
Members of The Druid Network organised events all around the world - below are some of the reports we have had in so far
Britain
London - Parliament Square
Making our way towards the Houses of
Parliament the presence of dozens of police was obvious, and you can imagine
how we smiled at the synchronicity: the Royal Air Force were holding a service
at Westminster Abbey commemorating those airmen who had died in the last world
war at exactly the time of our rite. The
Prince of Wales and his wife were attending, hence the police presence.
There were around 25 of us, the number for
which we’d asked permission from the police and local authorities to make our
gathering legal under the new anti-terror laws.
The sun shone beautifully, the grass was dry, as we stood in our circle
in Parliament Square, the Abbey’s bells peeling so loudly we had to raise our voices to
hear one another. And beautifully,
perfectly, just as we were slipping into our meditation on peace, overhead
screamed four fighter jets in a fly-past honouring the RAF dead, right over the
Abbey and our gathering.
For those unfamiliar with the setting, the
place is like a large square roundabout.
The traffic was snarling and beeping, big buses revving and pausing, now
and then some heavy drum and bass erupting from an open car window, police and
ambulance sirens regularly adding to the cacophony, Big Ben chiming at each
quarter hour, helicopters whirring above, protestors shouting or chanting, the
chatter of tourists walking past, the earth beneath us vibrating as each subway
train passed below, all amidst that constant hum of the city itself. Brian Haw, the longterm Christian war
protester is still encamped on one pavement, statues of war heroes and
politicians stand fixed in their glory beneath the plane trees, and upon the
grass sat small groups of families, couples, tourists – and us.
And we found peace. The shared intention was so clear, even those
whose spiritual practice has not been extensive could find the current of
peace, as we let ourselves be fully a part of the fabric of nature in that
moment in time and space. For some 40
minutes or so, utterly within the nature of that place, we were an integral
part of the sacred song of peace.
Roused by the soft tones of the drum (soft
simply because of the noise levels around us), we then each spoke of what
inspired us, what provided us with the strength to allow us to find that peace,
and in doing so we honoured our gods, our ancestors, nature, each other, giving
thanks for each relationship that nourished, fuelled, and taught us.
Standing up, we each then acknowledged how
we are complicit in destroying peace, recognising 
our failings, honouring the
gods of war and all those currents that do not support peace, aspects of our
world and our nature that thrive upon the friction of conflict – yet still we
stood in peace. And that peace we then
shared in chanting and song, expressing its easy tides and harmony, directing
the magical flow in particular towards the Houses of Parliament before us.
We had arranged with the authorities that
our gathering would last just two hours, and we closed our rite with the
sharing of cookies. Most who came had
made or bought peace cookies, and some of the gathering took them around the
Square to the protestors (many of which were Muslim and fasting for Ramadan),
to families, to tourists, as we sat and shared their sweetness with tea and
water.
It was a beautiful gathering. There was no protest, no yelling, no fighting
for what we assert to be right, no
judging of wrong. Yet this was not fluff. It was exquisitely powerful. Peace must begin with peace within, and if we
can find it, express it, share it, and within such a place, we have crafted a
good day - and we did.
Emma Restall Orr,Tangwen’s Grove
Birmingham - Bards of the Lost Forest
Bards of the Lost Forest celebrated Peace One Day in the Forest of Arden, hearing the stories of friends and family members who had been touched by war, singing protest songs and reading poetry.
Ours was a gentle gathering in the Autumn sunshine, discussing the differences between modern, impersonal, industrialised warfare, and the war of ancient heroic cultures where terms like 'collateral damage' and 'friendly fire' would have been a nonsense. We recognised the inevitability of conflict and the importance of greeting it honourably, and that true peace is not about being comfortable and apathetic.
Bryn
Glasgow
We celebrated our Mabon or Autumn Equinox on Sunday, we do this so folks can make it along when they are
not working. We had a good turn out and Peace was called and a meditation led
for 'Peace for one Day' as it was World Peace Day.
Apples were given out to
everyone present by the youngest member of the Grove
who is 12 years old and these were the seeds for the year to come, the promise
of new things.
Some beautiful new calls to the four elements were written to
blend in with the whole idea.
The Summer God was asked if he would gladly
give his life so his children would live and he agreed and the Goddess accepted
his sacrifice! (this was just acted out in words)
Lugh in his glory shone down on all present and everyone felt the ceremony was a good
one:-)
A new blend of loose incense has been created which is a blend
that brings balance and peace, it burnt well and lasted through the whole
ceremony with a little folding over the charcoal.
Siusaidh,Tuatha de Bridget Groven, Glasgow, Scotland.
Isle of Wight
BUZZARDS soaring high over the nearby barrow downs prefaced and accompanied
Wight Druids' celebration of Peace Day on Sunday, one of our most successful -
and in some ways, extraordinary - gatherings to date.
The open-air temple created by grove member Eva at our sacred site, The
Longstone, with gorgeous flowing gateway flags at the quarters and the dressing
of the central altar, was simply beautiful, as was the sight of a blue kite
flying above in a playful breeze, which greeted many on arrival.
And the weather was perfect, sublime, warm autumnal sunshine.
Woven into the fabric of the event were our rites for the Autumn
Equinox.
Although we were very much aware of our global connections, through TDN and
via the Peace One Day movement, there was also a great intimacy to this event,
as each person in turn around our circle chose and offered up inspirational
words on the theme of peace, meditated in sacred space on its individual meaning
for them - to the sounds of Brian’s delightful flute playing - then sang out
their powerful Awens in all directions, so their energy and reverberations might
flow out to the greater apparent world … and far beyond.
Afterwards, we shared a little more music, drumming and a delightful
picnic.
Those who attended this event will know the central ritual and celebration
was filmed professionally by our dear friend, Robin. We hope to soon be able to
make an edited video available to view on the Wight Druids website,
www.wightdruids.co.uk.
Peace be with you all.
Blue/|\
Brazil
On Sunday, September 21, 2008, the Sacred Gorsedd of Bards of Caer Piratininga and some guests travelled to the city of Morungaba, in the country side of the State of São Paulo, some 90 km away from our beloved city of São Paulo de Piratininga, to celebrate the Spring and Peace Day.
Most of the participants had gathered the day before at a beautiful country house offered by one of our guests, and had celebrated a Healing Ritual on Saturday night. Some others joined them on Sunday, all united in a spirit of healing, balance and peace.
Although it had not been planned, some of the guys in attendance did not resist the nearby football field and happily played Football for Peace.
After lunch - and football - and due to the intermittent rain and strong winds, everyone - babies, children, adults, pagan and non-pagan - gathered in a room of the house to celebrate the Spring Equinox and Peace Day Ritual. The altar was carefully decorated with flowers from a vine that stood at the entrance to the property (Bougainvillea spectabilis, called 'Primavera' in Portuguese, meaning 'Spring'), which covered the road with its pink flowers. On the altar there was also a vase of sage (symbolizing healing) and a cauldron with earth.
We thus gathered in the usual circular arrangement representing our Sacred Grove, our gathering point, our Cauldron of Rebirth. The Nemeton was consecrated by our presence and by the acknowledgement of the very friendly and welcoming Spirits of Place. A word about the significance of Spring in our lives was then shared by all, and so the Challenge begun...
The core of our celebration aimed at drawing our guests' attention to the symbolism of Springtime - rebirth, renewal, fresh starts - but also to the need of a less contemplative and more active approach to the promotion of Peace.
With everybody focusing on their physical and spiritual presence in That Place and at That Moment, we nurtured each other, side by side, with the gift of our perfect presence - we felt the power of the Grove, the Circle and the Cauldron - and this perception was enhanced by the common notion of peace as sheer happiness and satisfaction. This, of course, is not necessarily homogenous - quite the contrary, every one has their own path to peace. With that notion very clear in our minds and in our souls, we then left the Circle - going out to The Way, the Old Straight Track, in order to collect the Springtime "seeds" that we were to sow in our individual paths to Peace. Each person chose a small piece of coloured paper from the shrubbery along the path that leads to our Circle and, in so doing, we combined the Cauldron and the Sword - the Dagger and the Cup, Action and Receptiveness, the Male and Female principles united through the Hieros Gamos, Sacred Marriage.
When everyone was back, we then exchanged our views of the symbols contained in each piece of paper - the names of Celtic gods and goddesses, of sacred trees and animals, of holy objects and images, of sacred places. Each one of us received a message from the Spirits, in order to inform the next step of our Spring and Peace Ceremony: the Planting of the Seeds of Peace.
From the cauldron-load of fertile dirt in the centre of our circle, each participant filled a small vase and sowed tiny seeds of chamomile, empowering them with the theme gathered from the coloured bits of paper - this represented our individual Path to Peace, a guideline to find and promote Peace in our own way - to the individual, to the community and to the Earth. Our duty as Druids was thus recognized, our future action was thus informed... may Springtime bring flowering to our seeds of Peace!
Carina
