Lantern Walk

This weekend we celebrated the annual Lantern Walk with our Waldorf playgroup. This festival celebrates the turning inward of the season and carrying our inner light through the approaching winter months. I look forward to this festival all year as it is my favorite of all of the seasonal festivals that we celebrate on the Waldorf school calendar. Last year's festival was very special and this year was just as beautiful.
We gathered together in the park, at dusk, around an old tree.

Each family brings lanterns that they have made at home and that the children have been working on in playgroup.

These are the lanterns that we made as a family.

In the growing darkness we begin to light our lanterns,

That is when the magic really begins. Every year I am whisked away to a fairy land as we gather together in a circle and sing songs as the children's faces glow in the soft lantern light.

Then we walk through the park as a group, until we reach a spot where the "fairies" have left a picnic of finger foods for us to feast on. The children eat treats and run around playing while the parents chat, and all of us are filled with the newness and thrill of being outside in the chilly darkness.

Afterwards, we walked home through the park, crunching leaves under foot, the children were tired but smiling. Frank and I feeling so blessed to be a part of this special group of friends.