A Word About Festivals
By Miss Belinda
Glimmer, lantern, glimmer,
Little stars a-shimmer,
Over meadow, moor and dale,
Flitter, flutter elfin veil.
Pee-wit, pee-wit, tick-a-tick-a-tick,
Rou-cou, rou-cou, rou-cou.
Glimmer, lantern, glimmer,
Little stars a-shimmer,
Over rock and stock and stone,
Wander tripping little gnome.
Pee-wit, pee-wit, tick-a-tick-a-tick,
Rou-cou, rou-cou, rou-cou.
As I reflect upon our lovely and magical community
gathering in celebration of our annual Lantern Walk and Festival, I thought I’d
“shed a little light” on why we celebrate festivals here at LifeWays.
Throughout the year, we at LifeWays celebrate festivals in
order to help us celebrate the rhythms of the earth which can, in turn, help us
to be in harmony with ourselves and find a greater sense of wholeness and
balance in our lives. Our “festival
life” also helps establish a yearly rhythm for the children. Children love their lives to be orderly and
predictable as it gives them a feeling of safety and security, and whether we
celebrate a festival with the whole community or during the day with the
children (think of our Birthday celebrations), the rhythm of the festivals
provides them with feelings of safety and security within the endless passage
of time. Our festival life also provides
us with the opportunity to reconnect with one another and strengthen our
community. They help to nourish our
souls through the sharing of stories, food, songs and activities that celebrate
the seasons, and we seek to express them with beauty and with reverence. Festivals remind us again and again that
beauty, wonder, anticipation and reverence are worth making space for in our
lives.
Thus, every year around the end of October or early
November, we, along with other LifeWays centers and homes as well as Waldorf
schools, celebrate a Lantern Walk to celebrate Martinmas, a festival of inner
light in the outer darkness of the approaching winter. St. Martin, for whom the festival honors,
became known as friend of the children and patron of the poor. He is remembered for his good deeds and acts
of kindness. The festival originated in
France and then spread through Germany, the rest of Europe and
Scandinavia. Because it is held in
November, in this part of the world it occurs as autumn is ending and winter is
coming on, marking a time of full barns and completed harvest in preparation
for winter. As St. Martin spread warmth
and light to his fellow human beings, this festival of light serves as a
reminder that within each one of us lives a divine spark, and that we may
spread our own warmth and light out into the world as we enter into the darkest
time of the year.
Over the month of October, the children hear stories,
create their lanterns and learn the songs in preparation and anticipation of
the festival.
Each year, we look forward to sharing this festival of
light with you as we see how our own little flickering lantern becomes a shared
light, and we experience the full circle from the solitary individual to the
fullness of community.
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