Martinmas, then and now

Last year at Martinmas we were at my Mom's in New York.  (I never blogged about Martinmas last year so thought I would include it in my post this year.) We had just visited the Aurora Waldorf school and it was such an inspiring visit.  While there, one of the teachers invited us to come back to celebrate Martinmas with them. 

 

So we got to work on our lanterns!  I saw lantern handles like these while touring the school.  We decided to make them from wood that had been cut from my favorite childhood tree.

This tree used to be so beautiful. It lives in the yard in front of my Mom's house, the house I grew up in.  It was the ancient beautiful tree that shaded our yard & provided endless fun & comfort. Before we came home it had been hit by lightning and largely cut down. Sadly, we had plenty of wood to choose from for our lantern handles, though it's so meaningful to me that they're made from my beloved tree. 

So with lantern handles sanded and beeswaxed and glass jars tissue papered we set off for our adopted Waldorf school.  

We went early and had a little picnic in the outdoor play area.

When everyone arrived we had some storytelling around the fire.

Michael and my Mom.

Then we set off for the woods on our lantern walk! 

Pumpkins lit our way.  It was quite magical.  Michael asked to go again and so he and I circled the route again. Just let me say, "Wander tripping little gnome" from my favorite lantern song, is right!  We were tripping all over the place.  Mostly in the uneven grass coming out of the wooded area. Michael loved it!

(On the right, check out the lovely little Saint Martin figures my friend made the boys.)

This year for Martinmas we celebrated on our own.  There isn't a Waldorf school in our area here in the Southwest.  I do wish there were, but also I was thankful to experience the festival on our own this year.  The Waldorf school was fun, the stories were good, the little snack they served, the lit up pumpkins, the dark woods all so magical!  But what's that saying about feeling alone in a crowd?  I had a sense of loss there, wanting to be apart of the group but also feeling left out and alone.  This was my experience and of my own making I'm sure, because my little ones didn't seem to have that sense at all!  They were just grateful to be there and so full of energy and excitement.  But in contrast, this year Martinmas was personal.

Our chalk board drawing was of children on a lantern walk. I told the story of Saint Martin and the beggar. 

I drew this crayon drawing inspired by the moment when Saint Martin felt compassion for the beggar. We also read the chapters about Martinmas in The Festival of Stones. 

This year we tried a new lantern made from Watercolor paper.  We sort of combined two different lanterns in the book, All Year Round.  We took old watercolor paintings and then drew on them with beeswax crayons.  Then oiled the backs of the paper and formed the lantern shape.  The handles are made from yarn and there's glass jars inside to hold the candle.  Michael, Owen and I (Papa was at work) had homemade chicken noodle soup and biscuits by lantern light.  We also cut the biscuits in half giving half to the person next to us.  Owen needed some convincing to share! At first he wouldn't give me any and then he gave it all to me. Our lantern walk was just us three.  I felt slightly silly walking through our neighborhood on our own with our lanterns & singing songs.  But it was a lovely, cool night and the boys were excited and loved it all.  And to my surprise this year, even though we celebrated alone, I didn't feel alone.  In fact, I felt quite unified with all the other families and groups celebrating Martinmas throughout the world that eve.  Go figure!?  Anyway, a belated Happy Martinmas to you all! 

Until next time...

PS: Just a few days left to enter the giveaway of Sieglinde De Francesca's book, A Donsy of Gnomes and one of her Kit N Tales to boot!