Taken from Suite101.com:
St. Martin's Day and the Feast of Lanterns
The first canonized
saint not associated with martyrdom, Martin of Tours left a legacy celebrated
by children's lantern parades throughout Germany St.
Martin ’s feast day (November 11), is traced to the early Middle
Ages. Celebration of St. Martin’s was revived significantly in the 15th
Century, perhaps accounting for the 16th Century parallels been St. Martin and
the Protestant reformer, Martin Luther. Luther mythology also helps to explain
why the often called “lantern festival” became popular in North
Germany , which was predominantly Protestant.
Lanterns
and “Laternen Lieder”
Laternen lieder are
lantern songs. Throughout
Germany the winter feast of St. Martin ’s finds children and parents making lanterns
to carry through the streets at night in large groups called “trains.” This
lantern train associates light during the autumnal festival with Martin of
Tours. One of the songs begins, “Holy Saint Martin
was a good man; he gave the children candles and lit them by his own hand.” The
Catholic nature of the festival was kept by Northern Protestants and the cause
is again attributed to Martin Luther. While in Nordhausen, Luther lit candles
on St. Martin ’s Day and put them in the
windows.
One popular lantern song is called, “A Beggar sat in the Cold Snow,” and
tells the story of St. Martin ’s generosity. Most
lantern songs – lieder, are more secular in nature, comparing the lantern’s
light to the stars and the moon. Perhaps the most popular children’s song
begins, “lantern, lantern, Sun and Moon and Stars.” (Thus the title of this
piece, as this song has become a favorite for Vivienne and Conrad.)
The lantern festival is often compared to American Halloween
which comes ten days earlier. Like at Halloween, children often receive sweets
and tiny pastries from people watching the parade of lanterns and hearing the
many lantern songs. At least one German writer has pointed out that while
American Halloween is highly commercial, St. Martin ’s
celebrations still point to a non-commercial message tied to giving to the
poor.
To make our lanterns we used papier mache on ballons. Unfortunately neither one of my children particularly liked the feel of the wallpaper paste so neither would actually make their own lanters! Gotta love playgroup projects! So I sucked it up and made 2. It was a multi-week project as we had to allow time for them to dry, time to decorate them and then plan for an evening when we could all get together after dark and have our own lantern "train". Truly it was worth the work because the lanterns turned out beautifully and we had a very nice time walking around after dark, singing our songs and enjoying our lanterns.
Next stop was Daddy's office so we made another train.
Happy fish lanterns for a Happy St. Martin's Day!
Earlier this week we attended a friend's birthday party with a superhero theme. So Conrad revived his Halloween costume to dress as Spiderman, his favorite Superhero, and luckily for Vivienne we have an older costume that fit her too.
The Spidey's played pass-the-parcel
and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. (Conrad won both games!)
Everyone got a stick-on moustache in their party goodie bags!
Which is great but not nearly as much fun as a chocolate moustache from a donut at Dunkin Donuts!
(Does it seem like we are at Dunking Donuts all the time? I swear we aren't!)
Last week I took advantage of an MNO (Mom's Night Out) at a friend's house so Daddy stayed home with the kiddos. When I got home, quite late by my standards, I found the boys playing racing games on the iPad
And Vivienne, well, apparently she fell asleep doing her Superman impression.
Leave 'em where they lay!
I wonder if next week will be as exciting?
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