2009 Annual Apron Burning

People's lives are shaped by rituals and ceremonies, both conscious and subconscious, overt and covert. These rituals become part of a person's inner narrative, marking the ending and beginning of chapters in their life story. A person's internal dialogue is characterized based on their interpretations of these events. These events can range from a simple decision to change one's hair style, to a planned formal celebration, such as a graduation ceremony or wedding. Each one of these things is a simultaneous ending and beginning, the end of something and the start of something new

Many times after successfully navigating a life crisis, stressful transition, or recovering from a severe trauma, people choose to mark the completion of their journey with a ritual for closure, signifying their recovery and forward motion. Often victims of sexual assault or persons leaving an abusive relationship will as part of their therapeutic progress write a letter to the perpetrator of abuse, letting loose all of their feelings of anger, hurt and resentment. Rather than send the letters, which in many cases, would only exacerbate already potentially damaging situations, these persons destroy them, thereby signifying the destruction of the impact or hold the maladaptive situation had over their life.

Empirical support for the effectiveness of emotional catharsis achieved through these means is widespread. "Survivor to Thriver" support groups exists all over the country for persons recovering from a myriad of traumas. "Take Back the Night" allows survivors of sexual assault to reclaim their own personal self awareness and anonymously create messages on T-shirts to their attackers. LiveStrong and Daffodil Days allow cancer survivors to celebrate their recovery. Post Secret allows anyone and everyone to confess their guilty or confront the guilty in a publicly anonymous fashion.
Recently a group of former employees of the factory where cakes of curdled milk are de-frozen and presented as fresh got together and created their own closure ritual signifying the end of the factory’s control of their lives. The employees took permanent markers and wrote in bright colors all over their pristine, trademark white pants, shirts and aprons, the things they had longed to be able to say to their coworkers, managers and customers but due to fear of retribution had not been able to. Months and years of enduring the indignities described in the previous post were released, and in the end, the formerly starched stiff white uniforms (paid for, of course, by the employees, by a corporation who for no reason other than being able to continually manipulate their employees into purchasing new uniforms, requires them to wear ALL WHITE in a restaurant) were covered in a rainbow of emotionally charged statements and curse words.
After admiring their handiwork, the former staff members promptly threw it into an outdoor fireplace and saw the symbolism of their fading anger, resentment and hatred go up in smoke and blow away in the wind, leaving only a few charred ashes as a reminder of what had been a huge trash bag full of old uniforms, symbols of tyranny, a few moments before.