November Decorations

 

Halloween decorations have been put away and November ones have been taken out. First up is Martinmas (one of our most favorite festivals) and the lantern walk to bring light into the darkness. xo 

Scenes From Our Lantern Walk

 

Visiting the hens. 

Our lanterns Thursday night after our Lantern Walk.

The new additions the girls made this year using the gorgeous lantern decorations from Twelve Little Tales. 

Martinmas is one of our most favorite festivals to celebrate. It's message of kindness, of caring for others, and of light in the darkness resonates deeply. We love that it connects us to the Waldorf community but also to our German ancestry as Saint Martin's Day is celebrated throughout Germany on November 11th. No matter how old the girls get I have no doubt that they will always celebrate Martinmas and make time for the Lantern Walk. xo 

On Martinmas

 

On Lantern Walk Night

 Last night we gathered with friends from church for our annual Lantern Walk. We read Heather Sleightholm's gorgeous new book Snow on Martinmas, sang lantern songs and then walked through the dimly lit church and outside to the bell garden. Once in the bell garden we walked and sang and then gathered to sing our closing song- "Go Now In Peace" before heading inside for gingersnaps and apple cider. Though it was bitterly cold and windy last night the sight of the lanterns (and the stars shinning above) was a beautiful one indeed! Thank you to everyone who joined us this year. We are looking forward to next year's lantern walk already! xo

Light In The Darkness

A cold and windy November Friday night. A gathering with friends. Stories and poems were read, songs were sung and lanterns were lit. We gathered together, our lights on their own rather dim, but once outside in the darkness they shown brightly. Some candles blew out but there was always someone there offering help to make them glow again.

After the heaviness and sadness of this week the message the universe was sending wasn't lost on me.

Martinmas (or Saint Martin's Day if you are in Germany) has always been one of  my most favorite of the Waldorf festivals. The simple beauty of the lanterns. The important message of being a light in the darkness. Never have we needed Martinmas more than we did this week. It's message  of love, kindness and compassion was so very needed right then, and will continue to be needed in the days, weeks, months and years to come.  xo

The Lantern Walk Last Night

It was such a completely perfect night for the first annual Plymouth Church lantern walk last night. The wind, which had been so very blustery all day, was almost nonresistant that evening (thank you, Mother Nature!) and the stars and a lovely finger nail moon were present, too. We gathered in the sanctuary where lanterns were lit, lantern holders handed out, stories were read and songs were sung before we ventured out for the much looked forward to lantern walk. The quiet darkness of the night paired with the sea of beautiful lanterns shining their lovely light was absolutely breathtaking! We walked and sang and walked some more before gathering for one final song (easily the most beautiful of the night) and some pictures before saying our "good-byes" and "see you tomorrows". It was another truly magical night with our beloved church family. 

We are so incredibly grateful to be part of a faith community that we love so dearly, and who loves us just as dearly and has embraced us (and our Waldorf ways) so completely. It is such a blessing to be able to call Plymouth Church "home", to have the chance to be part of such a special place as this, to be able to share in the traditions that have been around for eons and to have the chance to help create new ones, too. 

Thank you, Plymouth Church, for being. Thank you for loving us and welcoming our love and our family in return. You are truly the beloved community and we are so incredibly blessed to be a part of it. Thank you for sharing this very special night with us. We look forward to many more lantern walks together for years to come! xo 

Lantern Making

With our church holding their first lantern walk this evening it seemed like the perfect excuse to make some new lanterns this week. Our other jar lanterns were about four or five years old and pretty badly faded. We didn't make new ones last year since we had opted for the lovely (yet not nearly as easy) balloon lanterns. They sure were pretty, but goodness if we make those again we'll definitely not use such dark purple paper!

We had conducted a lantern making workshop at church a few weeks ago so all the supplies were still in the bags and boxes that we had brought them to church and back in. We got them out and got our craft on! While we crafted we chatted and sang. It was a perfect way to spend a cold afternoon. 

Dave made lantern holders for the people who come to the walk tonight, and we added a little bling to our lanterns for tonight, too (pictures to come). The sweet little sparkly addition to our lanterns has made them even more magical than they already were! xo

Martinmas

Last Saturday we gathered with our Waldorf homeschool group for the annual Martinmas festival and lantern walk. The new lanterns were lovely, though Emma's purple paper was probably slightly too dark in retrospect. Before we went on our lantern walk the Saint Martin story from The Festival of Stones was read, a poem was shared and the lanterns were lit. Once we were all outside (and the obligatory pictures were taken) we began our walk all the while singing Glimmer Lantern Glimmer. Slowly and steadily we walked down the path through the woods letting our lanterns shine as beacons of light in the darkness. Once we returned to the house apple cider, hot chocolate and molasses cookies were enjoyed before everyone departed for home. For those that don't know about Martinmas my dear friend Kim over at Mothering with Mindfulness has described it beautifully in today's post. We just adore Martinmas and it's beautiful message of helping others and letting your light shine. xo

Lanterns For Martinmas

Martinmas is one of our most favorite Waldorf festivals (our other favorite being the Advent Spiral). This Saturday we will once again meet up with other Waldorf homeschool families for a Lantern Walk. The lantern walk is such a magical time! This year, inspired by this post and this post we decided to make some new lanterns.With today being cold and rainy, a couple of days before the Lantern Walk, we got to work on the new lanterns. They need a day or two to fully dry so we've got some waiting to do before we can see them aglow, sadly. Good thing Saturday's just around the corner! xo

A Snowy Lantern Walk

We went on a magical snowy lantern walk tonight. It was the first time we had taken one (and it's safe to say that there will be many more to come). After dinner we got into our jammies (followed by our snow clothes), grabbed our lanterns and headed out. The snow was softly falling and it was incredibly peaceful. We were the only people out except for the occasional car that passed by. It was fun to feel like this world was ours and ours alone. We explored and chatted and took in how peaceful it was as we walked. When we returned to the house the girls decided to play outside for a bit. Rosy cheeked and happily cold they came inside and requested peppermint hot chocolate to warm up with. As we sat by the light of the Christmas tree drinking our hot chocolate Grace said to me: "Mama, I am so glad that you came up with the idea for a snowy lantern walk! It was truly magical! I hope we can do this again and again!" We sure can, sweet girl. We sure can!

Glimmer, Lantern, Glimmer

On Saturday we gathered with friends for a lantern walk. The night was crisp and quiet and all the children in attendance (all girls, by the way) were excited for the festival. We were treated to a lovely meal and then the story of Martin's Lantern was read. Once the story was finished we lit our lanterns and headed out into the night. It was peaceful and cool, just perfect for a lantern walk. While we headed down the path that would lead us through the woods we sang lantern walk songs (Glimmer, Lantern, Glimmer being one of them). As we wound down the path toward the exit we could see some beautiful lanterns glowing in the distance. Finally, we had reached the end and there in front of us inside what felt like a magical ring of trees some lanterns had been hung. It was simply magical! We all stood there in awe of how breathtakingly beautiful it was. Finally, after a few pictures were taken, we gathered our lanterns and headed in for a snack of molasses cookies and warm cider. Once everyone had warmed up and bellies were full we all said our "thank-yous" and "see-you-soons" and headed out into the night each of us with our lights shining brightly!