Lantern Walk

When I was a little girl, my family lived in a tiny village on top of a hill somewhere in the middle of Germany. Everyone except us was Catholic, so religious processions were quite common. There was only one celebration my family participated in with regulairty: the lantern walk for St Martin's Day. In the evening, the whole village would congregate in the schoolhouse. All the children received "Laibchen,"small loaves of sweet bread with raisins. We lit our homemade paper lanterns, and moved in procession to the village green, where a large bonfire was lit. The procession followed Martin on a horse, and we all sang "Laterne, Laterne, Sonne, Mond und Sterne. Brenne auf, mein Licht, brenne auf, mein Licht, aberr nur meine liebe Laterne nicht."

St Martin's was a magical night for us children. The man on his horse was awe-inspiring, the many lanterns cast a beautiful light in the night, the bread was sweet, the bonfire reached to the heavens. Over 30 years later, I still remember the awe and reverence we felt on this festive night. Today, I feel very blessed to be part of a homeschooling coop that celebrates this wondeful festival. We met at a local park last night. After a short story about Martin, the soldier who shared his cloak and his light with a beggar, we lit our lanterns and walked signing down the path to the fire pit. We shared snacks and drink with friends, everyone talked and played for a bit, and then we headed home for dinner.

When I asked Sophine this morning about the lantern walk, she said "oh mommy, it was magical!"