Martinmas Lantern Walk
for
Spindlewood Families and Friends
for
Spindlewood Families and Friends
Thursday, November 10, 4:30 – 5:15 pm
This week in the kindergarten, each child will make a paper lantern by folding and cutting one of his or her watercolor paintings. They will be ready when you arrive
for the Lantern Walk. You are welcome to bring other candle lanterns, also, but
please no flashlights!
'Martinmas', November 11, is a festival with European roots. Martin (named for Mars) was a Roman soldier of the fourth century who gave his cloak to a beggar. (This was more than an act of charity. It was considered to be an act of treason.) Later in a dream Martin saw Christ clothed in his cloak. He subsequently devoted the rest of his life to helping the poor. He was a man who carried an inner light in
a time of darkness.
This festival provides us with an opportunity to consciously mark the point in the cycle of the year when the light and warmth of the sun is retreating. The Lantern Walk allows us to experience the change of season in a sensory way.
A small bonfire and warm apple cider that we pressed at our Harvest Celebration will await families upon their arrival at the kindergarten. When all are gathered we will celebrate the circle time that the children are doing in the kindergarten. In the Waldorf School, we wait until second grade to tell stories of the saints. So our circle game presents a picture of the elemental beings whose task it is to bring cosmic light into the earth, bringing life to the seeds and light to the growth of crystals.
After the circle, parents or grandparents may light the children’s lanterns (we will provide long matches that you may wish to keep just in case a lantern needs to be rekindled) and I will lead the way along the lighted path. The walk is not long but the experience is memorable. Stepping into the darkness we are guided only by the
light of our lanterns and the luminaries placed along the pathway and the full
moon (if I remember to turn off the automatic spotlight on the barn!) We may
hear an owl, a crackling stick, or the wind. We return to find the bonfire extinguished, but the sparks of light in our lanterns creating a large circle of
warmth and community. We sing a final song, receive a ginger cookie and then
carry the lanterns with the same quiet intention to your cars and on to your
homes.
This week in the kindergarten, each child will make a paper lantern by folding and cutting one of his or her watercolor paintings. They will be ready when you arrive
for the Lantern Walk. You are welcome to bring other candle lanterns, also, but
please no flashlights!
'Martinmas', November 11, is a festival with European roots. Martin (named for Mars) was a Roman soldier of the fourth century who gave his cloak to a beggar. (This was more than an act of charity. It was considered to be an act of treason.) Later in a dream Martin saw Christ clothed in his cloak. He subsequently devoted the rest of his life to helping the poor. He was a man who carried an inner light in
a time of darkness.
This festival provides us with an opportunity to consciously mark the point in the cycle of the year when the light and warmth of the sun is retreating. The Lantern Walk allows us to experience the change of season in a sensory way.
A small bonfire and warm apple cider that we pressed at our Harvest Celebration will await families upon their arrival at the kindergarten. When all are gathered we will celebrate the circle time that the children are doing in the kindergarten. In the Waldorf School, we wait until second grade to tell stories of the saints. So our circle game presents a picture of the elemental beings whose task it is to bring cosmic light into the earth, bringing life to the seeds and light to the growth of crystals.
After the circle, parents or grandparents may light the children’s lanterns (we will provide long matches that you may wish to keep just in case a lantern needs to be rekindled) and I will lead the way along the lighted path. The walk is not long but the experience is memorable. Stepping into the darkness we are guided only by the
light of our lanterns and the luminaries placed along the pathway and the full
moon (if I remember to turn off the automatic spotlight on the barn!) We may
hear an owl, a crackling stick, or the wind. We return to find the bonfire extinguished, but the sparks of light in our lanterns creating a large circle of
warmth and community. We sing a final song, receive a ginger cookie and then
carry the lanterns with the same quiet intention to your cars and on to your
homes.
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