Martinmas

Apple Blossom's beautiful lantern walk celebrating the Martinmas festival occurs every November. Martinmas falls halfway between the summer solstice and the winter solstice. The meaning, as I understand it, is that we our celebrating the light inside ourselves as the season turns to a time of darkness.  From connecting with this light within we help ourselves and each other build up our inner resources of courage and strength to be our best selves.

  

Before the lantern walk a parent makes a lantern for his or her child out of a beautiful watercolor painting made by the child and the parent illuminates it with carved shapes covered with kite paper.  At the lantern walk we each place a candle inside  our lanterns and the entire community of parents and children does an evening walk throughout the school while singing lantern songs. I love this festival!  My children are still singing Glimmer Lantern Glimmer.

Glimmer, lantern, glimmer
Little stars a-shimmer
Over meadow, moor and vale
Flitter, flutter, elfin veil
Pee-wit, pee-wit, tikka-tikka-tik
Rucoo, rucoo.

Glimmer, lantern, glimmer
Little stars a-shimmer
Over rock and stock and stone
Wandering, skipping little gnome
Pee-wit, pee-wit, tikka-tikka-tik

Rucoo, rucoo.