Martinmas Round-Up

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On Sunday night we had the wonderful fortune of being invited to a Lantern Walk that was being held through the German Church in town.  There were quite a few families present, and lots of children holding many different types of lanterns.  We had a small service, the priest read a story from Leo Tolstoy from the book “Stories For Telling”  (here on Amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Stories-Telling-William-R-White/dp/0806621923) and then we saw a dramatization of Saint Martin and the beggar.  This included a live horse, which thrilled the children as we got to walk behind St. Martin and his horse and a procession of trumpets.  Very lovely!

Here is a round-up of the songs we sang (in German, of course):

Ich geh mit meiner Laterne

Laterne, Laterne

Sankt Martin ritt durch Schnee und Wind

I wanted to post You Tube links to these songs, but I kept coming up with these odd techno-versions of these songs that were not really what I wanted…Perhaps my German-speaking readers can help with links so those unfamiliar with these can hear the songs?

Here are some ways other blogging families celebrated Martinmas:

http://maymomvt.blogspot.com/search/label/martinmas

http://mommyerin.blogspot.com/2010/11/celebrating-feast-of-st-martin-of-tours.html

http://thewheelandthedisk.blogspot.com/2010/11/martinmas.html

Over at Untrodden Paths:  http://untroddenpaths.blogspot.com/2010/11/recent-picture-books-and-st-martin.html

If you celebrated Martinmas and wrote a blog post, please leave your link below so others can find you!

Many blessings,

Carrie

17 thoughts on “Martinmas Round-Up”

  3. Thanks for the link. I find myself challenged to reflect more deeply on these festivals as my girls grow beyond the childhood Waldorf stories and crafts. We lit all our old favorite lanterns this year and sang through our old favorite songs, but then also did some community service. Still, I felt like an important moment in my year was lost when we skipped walking with our lanterns.

    Reply ↓

    • Sarah, Is there any kind of a German Community in your area that holds Lantern Walks? The thing that is interesting to me is that many Waldorf schools stop the Lantern Walks for children who are older, but obviously within a cultural context adults and children walk. I agree with you that community service, collecting coats or food, etc is a logical progression of the older children, but I am an adult and I still enjoy the Lantern Walks. …:)
      Blessings,
      Carrie

  8. Thanks for the link! I have really been enjoying reading all about how different families celebrate. I’m going to see if any groups in Portland Oregon do a lantern walk for next year. What a great idea!

    Reply ↓

  12. Hello Carrie,

    I had some similar problems in finding Martinmas songs online. Here is “Ich gehe mit meiner Laterne,” the last verse:

    I’ll keep looking for more.

    Reply ↓

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