One Apple A Day #491 - find your meaning
Last night was the last one of probably the most important traditional celebration in Valencia; las Fallas. It's a week full of music, colors, people, dancing, folklore, and firecrackers. For the duration of the celebration, the city is filled with beautiful monuments, called "Falles" made of cardboard, wood, and polystyrene. You can find some photos online, they are unique pieces of art. Some of them took a whole year to be built.
The closing act of this week is called the "Cremà" (Valencian for "burning"). During the last night, all the "falla" monuments are set on fire. They are all wholly burnt. The first time I experienced this celebration, I was surprised. What is the point in dedicating so much effort to something and then burn it down in one night? Now I know that things don't have a meaning on themselves. We give meaning to them. What really matters is not the object, it is the relationship that we have with that object. Through the "cremà" people in Valencia fill with meaning the monument they create. It's an excellent reminder to myself of the importance of anchor anything I do to a meaning.