Celebrating St. Martin's Day

Ever since we attended a Waldorf Playgroup, we’ve been celebrating St. Martin’s Day. (One would wonder why we need another holiday to celebrate this time of year but…there you go.)

I really enjoy this holiday, celebrated on November 12^th…maybe because it doesn’t (at least at our house) involve yet another round of candy and sweets. It involves crafts, a parade and a great story about a soldier that doesn’t include violence. How much more Not-Quite-Crunchy can you get?

Celebrated in Germany, The Netherlands and Flanders (part of Belgium) St. Martin’s day or Martinmas commemorates St. Martin of Tours , a Roman Soldier turned Christian Bishop. The most famous story and the one we tell on our seasonal table is where he is traveling along on a winter evening and meets a beggar. The freezing beggar tugs at the hardened soldier’s heart strings and he rips his cloak in half to share with the beggar. That evening an angel (or Jesus, depending on your religious preferences) appears to St. Martin and commends him for his good deed. This semi secular version of the story works well for me, though you can get more into the conversion of St. Martin during this episode or discuss his time as a bishop if you wish.

Our main event, beyond acting out the story, either by dressing the children in costumes or using tiny play figures, is making lanterns and having a lantern parade. This is a great time of the year for a twilight parade since…twilight comes relatively early.

The simple lanterns we make take only a few minutes but must be made in advance so they have time to dry. We use old jelly jars, orange, white and yellow tissue paper, light wire, decoupage mix and tea lights.

Rip the tissue paper into small strips and using a commercial or home made decoupage mix (equal parts white glue and water) attach the strips to the lantern in any design you’d like as long as all of the glass is covered. Children as young as 3 or 4 can do this pretty easily (but not necessarily neatly) as the paper strips and work area are small. You can add glitter or bits of dried flowers and leaves if you like.

After the lantern dries create a loop of floral wire around the top and fashion it into a handle. Drop a tea light into it and light.

We tend to take the children on a walk over a grassy area to prevent the lanterns from shattering if dropped. Since the tea lights are small and this walk happens in a cooler part of the day, fire is less of a hazard, though carrying a water bottle for emergencies is often a good idea.

After the parade, the lanterns can decorate a table and will last for years. We have the start of a fine collection.

You can find another idea for making lanterns here.

For more great crafts ideas visit Scribbit's Winter Bazaar.

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