Sep 2
=====

Today we commemorate the creation of the Sun and Earth by
reading the story of the Big Bang.

    At the beginning of the big bang,
    everything that can be seen --
    everything that makes up the earth,
    or the sun, or the clouds,
    or the stars in the sky
    -- was compressed
    -- made to fit --
    into a space much smaller
    than the space taken now
    by a human hand;
    or even a finger;
    or the smallest shaving
    of a fingernail.

14 billion years ago,
January 1 on the Cosmic Calendar,
At the stroke of midnight
At the beginning of the new year--

    Everything within that small space was identical everywhere.
    There was nowhere any difference between light and dark,
    or between full and empty;
    but everything was full;
    and it was as if all was dark,
    because there was nowhere clear enough
    for light to shine through.

    And then the space expanded;
    and there became the difference
    between the full and the empty.
    This was the Big Bang.

15 minutes later on the Cosmic Calendar,
or 370 thousand years after the big bang:

    After the Big Bang began, space kept on expanding, getting bigger
    and bigger, so that there was more and more emptiness to surround
    all the things that would become the stars and the sun and the
    earth.

    It took fifteen minutes
    on the Cosmic Calendar,
    or 370 thousand years,
    before there was enough emptiness
    for light to shine
    through the universe.

    Then there was light,
    and the emptiness expanded more and more,
    and the empty spaces became like air bubbles
    in a watery foam, surrounded by thin layers
    of the things that would become the galaxies
    and the stars and the sun and the earth.

    As time went on and the empty voids grew bigger and bigger, the
    full parts between them grew smaller and smaller, so that all the
    things that would become galaxies came together toward each other,
    collecting themselves into great flocks called filaments.  As the
    filaments shrank smaller into themselves they began to form swirling
    clouds called galaxies where the things within would swirl together
    into spiraling clouds as well. So there were spiraling swirls and
    clouds within spiraling swirls and clouds.

Big Bang Tea Party
==================

    Preperation:

      Clear a table and clean the surrounding space,
      hiding away all distractions;
      Remove all sources of sound;
      Place on the table:
        * pitcher of cold coffee
        * pitcher of cold dark tea
        * bowl of ice
        * creamer of heavy cream
        * ~30ml pouring flask (not spoon)
        * central pedastal for drinking glass
      Set table for each person:
        * suitable, tall, clear drinking glass
        * drink coaster
        * napkin
        * spoon
        * plate

    Ceremony:

      Seat all of the people at the table
      Read the story of the creation of the sun and earth.
      Continue as follows:

        Along the thin shell edge of one of these Big Bang bubbles there
        is a pair of connected filaments called Pisces–Cetus and
        within it a swirl of swirls called Laniakea and within Laniakea
        is a swirl of swirls called Virgo and within Virgo there is a
        swirl we call the Local Group.  It is called Local because it
        contains within it the swirl that is our galaxy, the galaxy that
        we call the Milky Way. The word galaxy means milky, and is named
        after the sight of the stars from our planet.  All the stars of
        the night sky are the stars of the Milky Way, since all other
        stars on all other galactic swirls are so far away as to be
        invisible to the eyes of humans.

        Now to celebrate the swirl that became our home, the Milky Way,
        we will create swirls and clouds of our cream before we drink
        our tea.

        [Place a glass on the pedastal.
        Pour coffee into the glass.
        Slowly pour the cream into the glass.
        Creating a more complex 2-dimensional shape on the top may
        create a more satisfactory 3-dimensional shape below.
        When the effect is complete, stir the drink with the glass]

        Now that we have stirred the drink, the cream is dissolved.
        Over time, it would have dissolved even if we had not stirred it.

        But if the cream were surrounded by an expanding bubble of space
        instead of by an incompressible fluid contained within a glass,
        it wouldn't ever be able to dissolve, and the swirls would go on
        swirling.

        [Pour each person's drink in turn,
        pouring the cream on top in the same manner each time,
        but without waiting for the effect.]

        [Serve cake or cookies.]