THE IMPORTANCE OF CELEBRATING FESTIVALS

In recognition of our harmonious connection to all living things we embrace the significance of festivals. Festivals can bring us consciously to what we all experience instinctively in our daily lives, the awareness and wonder of the changing cycles of the seasons and of life itself. Festivals can become a source of healing for the individual and society.

Through festivals, we acknowledge and celebrate our communion with and our responsibility toward each other and the world. Observing seasonal turning points is one way we establish a yearly rhythm for the children.

Festivals of the year are celebrated as conscious nourishment for the soul expressed with beauty and reverence through art, music, stories, and poems.

Some festivals may be celebrated as school wide events, while others take place in the classroom. Teacher and students may observe festivals that arise out of their study of the different cultures of the world and possibly those that reflect the traditions of the families within each group.

November 11 marks the celebration of Martinmas, in honor of a Roman soldier elevated to sainthood for his selfless kindness.
Legend says that one wintry night he met a poor beggar, half naked and freezing. Martin removed his cloak from his shoulders and, drawing his sword, cut it in two and gave half to the beggar.
Martin became the patron saint of beggars, drunks, and outcasts dedicating his life to assisting pariahs and was known for his gentleness, his unassuming nature, and his ability to bring warmth and light to those who were previously in darkness. Celebrating Martinmas serves as a reminder that each of us has a divine spark that we must ferry out into the world and share with others. On the evening of Martinmas, Martin's deeds of goodness and acts of kindness are remembered with singing and a festival of lanterns. Children carry handmade lanterns as they walk into the cold, dark evening. A story recognizing "the light" of another gives the children the experience of caring and sharing as we move towards the darkness of winter. The children hear the story of St. Martin, sing songs, and as darkness falls,venture out into the night with their lanterns walking along a path lit with glowing luminaries carefully carrying their lanterns in a mood of quiet reverence. This symbolic act brings home the deeper truth, in the words of Siddhartha Gautama, (563-483 B.C.) "There isn't enough darkness in all the world to snuff out the light of one little candle"