Christmas of the bees

Whilst people are decorating their homes for Christmas, preparing feasts and waiting for loved ones to return, a festive life of its own is also unfolding in the hive. Bees spend the winter gathered together as a single colony, sharing food supplies, warmth and care for one another.

Their everyday winter life is full of ‘dances’, shared meals and preparations for the new season. It’s just that everything follows nature’s rules – more quietly, more sparingly and without any unnecessary fuss.

In this article, you will learn how bees spend the winter, how their life in the hive resembles our Christmas, and what we can learn from them about togetherness, caring for one another and the true meaning of the festive season.

If it’s to celebrate, it’s to celebrate

Bees are true “party animals” – they don’t know what they are celebrating (Christmas, harvest or New Year), but the feast lasts for months before the spring sun starts to knock on the hive’s door. In fact, even on sunny days during the cold season, we can see the hard-working bees taking a short break from their winter fun and flying off to exercise their wings by circling around their hive or cave. After a few laps and a fresh helping of treats, the worker bees return to the hive to continue their honey feast. The bees spend the whole summer preparing the feast – storing honey and preserves pollen. To make it easier for the hard-working women, the feasting table is also filled with caring beekeepers, who not only provide the treats, but also make sure that they are not in short supply throughout the festive period.
As the weather gets colder, all the strays return home to the hive, and the first main focus of the preparation for the festival is the cleansing and getting rid of what is unused, old and no longer needed. Drones, for example. The little workers have no scruples about letting them out – they drag them out of the hive and shut all the doors behind them, taking the keys with them. The moral is that you can only sit on your neck and dig for honey for a very limited time. If you too feel like a worker bee, constantly snooping around your work and home throughout the year, the first thing you should do in the run-up to the holidays is to get rid of anything old and unnecessary: unused things gathering dust or unnecessary thoughts and emotions. The bees recommend that Christmas be greeted with a clean home and a clear conscience. This will certainly help to prolong the festive period indefinitely.

Ideas for the festive table

Bees certainly don’t prepare a twelve-course festive dinner. In the wild, food supplies are used sparingly and respectfully – down to the very last drop. All that these hard-working bees eat is honey and bee bread, and, as they should, they feed their younger generation with milk – royal jelly. It turns out that these three products contain everything a living organism needs to survive for a relatively long period of time: a myriad of vitamins and minerals, a high carbohydrate content, essential proteins and enzymes, and many other beneficial substances. If we were able to prepare these dishes, there would be little need to lay out a multitude of meals that we often do not have time to savour. So there is something to learn from the honey-makers here too. The good news is that bee products are now not only available for them to enjoy, but, thanks to beekeepers, for all of us to enjoy as well. Perhaps this festive season, your table will be adorned with ten dishes made by you and at least two made by our hard-working beekeepers?

Bee dances

Who knows, bees sure know how to have fun! If you open the hive in winter (something we don’t recommend even for adrenaline junkies), you will see bees huddled in a ball, constantly “dancing”. Well, that’s how it would appear at first sight. In fact, bees move their wings and their little bellies to maintain a constant temperature in the centre of the ball, where the queen bee, the lady of the house, walks and feasts. Wherever she goes, so do all the dancing bees packed into the ball. If the weather outside is particularly cool, the bees start to ‘dance in circles’ – holding hands together as tightly as possible to minimise the spaces between them. A colony is a true example of a dedicated and supportive family, whose main goal is to make sure that the queen is not in need of anything, and to take care of each other. If the bees notice that one of the sisters has “slowed down” or has become sluggish, they immediately push her into the middle of the ball to warm up, regain her strength and refresh herself. After all, every member of the family – even the smallest – is priceless. And, besides, the more people dancing, the merrier the party. These “dances” continue throughout the feasting period – until the weather outside warms up enough for the bees to start their foray into spring honey.

If you want to celebrate St. To celebrate Christmas like a bee, you will need:

1. Invite everyone in your family to the festive table;
2. Get rid of what you don’t need: bad thoughts, unnecessary things, painful memories…
3. Create a festive mood in the hive: real beeswax candles or beeswax Christmas tree toys will create a cosy atmosphere and a unique aroma;
4. Make sure there is no shortage of nutritious dishes on the festive table. If you’re short of ideas, bees are on hand to help with bee bread, pollen and honey products;
5. Know how to have fun: dancing is probably the most important part of a bee festival, so everyone will have to join hands, form a big circle and move their tummies or other body parts until it gets really hot. We will dance like this for at least a week or two.

Gifts from the bees

It’s good for bees that they have one another – it’s more fun, safer, cosier and less lonely. Perhaps that’s why the bees give gifts every day: the queen provides them all with peace, comfort, clarity and a family; the worker bees protect one another from intruders, raise the next generation, provide food reserves and even sacrifice their lives whenever necessary; even the drones, who, on the face of it, do nothing but sip honey, fulfil a noble mission – they contribute to the continuation of the species by sacrificing their own lives. Yet bees are the very embodiment of modesty and do not boast about it in the slightest; instead, they continue to work patiently for the sake of their family.
So, if you’re wondering again this year what to give your loved one – take inspiration from the bees – give something priceless, something that says ‘I love you’, ‘I care about you’, ‘thank you for being there’. For those longing for summer or with a heart that’s growing cold, give the gift of summer sunshine and the scent of wildflowers, preserved in honey. And if you’re looking for gifts for little ones or those with a sweet tooth, gumdrops made with honey and fruit juice are a brilliant idea. When you’re feeling low on strength or energy, or when rainy spells set in, lift your spirits with some bee bread or pollen. When you’re missing the cosiness and tranquillity of home, as the flames crackle in the family fireplace or when you find yourself at a crossroads, light a natural beeswax candle, sip some herbal tea and soothe your thoughts with a teaspoonful of sweet honey. Believe me, even the fiercest storms sometimes pass whilst you’re drinking a single cup of warm tea. Even the fiercest enemies look each other in the eye, sharing the same little jar of honey delicacies, whilst all the families flock home – like the cosiest beehive – where not only warm tea but also the warm hands of warm people await them.

Christmas in the home hive

One of the most beautiful holidays of the year is approaching, during which we will remember what has been done, what is to come, what has been experienced, what has been hoped for, what has happened… We will remember those who are near us, and those who will never come back again. We will break the patch and wish for harmony, wholeness, love and peace. Let us pause for a moment at the table and remember those little miraculous insects that have brought so many hearts closer together: how the little ones flap their wings furiously, how their buzzing sounds, how they share their bread and honey, how they ‘dance’ together, not thinking about whether it was good or bad, what has been and what will be. Let us remember and learn from that sense of communion. After all, in every home, at least on St. Christmas can be like a beehive: only with good memories, with a sincere sharing of food and thoughts, without fear of holding hands, hugging and, finally, dancing. Who knows what miracles await you and your family if, just for one day, we exchange all means of communication for the eyes of our neighbour and, simply, celebrate St. John of God. Christmas like bees – with hands and hearts…