Festivals
We celebrate traditional Waldorf
festivals:
Michaelmas
Michaelmas is not just a day; it is a season that
extends from September 29, the Feast of St. Michael, to October 31, All
Hallows Eve. It is a time for celebrating deeds of strength and courage,
for facing dragons, external and internal. It is a time for harvest, a
time for work, a time for storing away that which we need for the cold
dark months to come.
We celebrate by making dragon kites and sharing dragon
bread. The eating of dragon bread symbolizes both the overcoming of the
dragon and the assimilation into our own beings the wisdom and power of
the natural world.
Click here for more
Michaelmas ideas.
Click here for
directions for making Marigold-dyed Saint Michael capes.
Halloween
Although extensive commercialization has diminished its spiritual
emphasis, Halloween, or All Hallows' Eve, is actually the first of the
festivals of light. On this evening, when it is said that the veil between
the physical and spiritual worlds is at its thinnest, and the denizens of
the spirit world may walk upon the earth, it has been traditional to light
lanterns to ward off evil.
We have celebrated Halloween with a special day at the
gardens with nature walks, making simple ghosts, a musical parade,
Halloween songs and fingerplays.
Martinmas
The Feast of St. Martin
celebrates the generosity of a Roman soldier who pledged his life to
serving the Christ through service to Mankind. It is the second of the
festivals of light celebrated in the Waldorf school year, and is
celebrated with a silent lantern walk.
This tradition gives
Martinmas a character reciprocal to that of Halloween, and teaches the
children to take joy in giving.
Advent
Advent is the season preceding Christmas during which
Christians await the arrival of the Christ child. It is a time of quiet
introspection, meditative searching, and joyful anticipation. In other
traditions as well, this season of shortening days and lengthening nights
is a time for reflecting on and honoring the past, looking to the future,
and searching for inner light in a period of outer darkness.
We celebrate with the traditional advent spiral. A
spiral is created outdoors with fresh pine greenery. We join for a potluck
meal followed with cookies and cider. As darkness approaches, each family
walks through the spiral and lights their lanterns in the center.
Saint Valentine's Day
Each child makes valentine cards at home, with a special
note in each one telling the recipient what they like about them. Each
child also makes a bag or box to hold the valentine's they will receive.
The children are told the story of the
Valentine Sparrow. The Valentine
Sparrow delivers letters while the children are in class.
Click here for
more Valentine's Day ideas.
MayDay
May Day has
typically been celebrated on a Saturday early in May. Everyone is
encouraged to wear white. We have lunch, make flower crowns, have a circle
and a short play about the root children. The celebration is culminated by
the weaving of the colored ribbons around the maypole.
