Hi everyone,
With the same zest and spirit as yours, I have received this lovely but culturally hermited tale. As an Arab reader I did not perceive well the cultural dimension of “jumping the fire” or “releasing the ballons in the air” until I did make a brief research on this type of cultural or anthropological rite. Amazingly enough, in my local culture, we do also ritually jump over the fire every once a year but according to the lunar calendar. I asked my mother about the reason ( the same way Sean wondered in the tale) of jumping, she replied ” girls jump to be very fertile when married, boys do to be initiated to adulthood”! Isn’t that amazing? Cultures do meet though geographically far might they seem. Herein lies the significance of literature which must be used to fuse peacefully all parts of the world.
You are right Chris I also see that the tale sheds light on the shift from adolescence to adulthood
to be continued
Mostafa
