Martinstag (St. Martin's Day)

We celebrated St. Martin's Day this past weekend with Lukas' school and had a great time.

Lukas had a fever the day they celebrated St. Martin's Day with his preschool class so he wasn't there to participate in the baking activities or the lantern parade.  We were excited to learn that the school was holding its own school-wide festival over the weekend for the children to parade around with their hand-made lanterns (some of them were handmade at least), sing songs about lanterns and watch a skit about St. Martin.

For those of you who have never heard about St. Martin, this is what Wikipedia has to say about him, "He was baptized as an adult and became a monk. It is understood that he was a kind man who led a quiet and simple life. The most famous legend of his life is that he once cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm, to save the beggar from dying of the cold. That night he dreamed that Jesus was wearing the half-cloak Martin had given away. Martin heard Jesus say to the angels: "Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised; he has clothed me."
 

Lukas holding his handmade lantern complete with a real tea-light inside.  The lantern holder is also handmade since Lukas and Olli fashioned it out of materials they bought at Lowe's the afternoon before the festival.

A photo taken just before we began to march with the other children around the park

Lukas knew at least two of the songs (accompanied by an accordion).  Here he is singing.

Isabel didn't have the opportunity to make her own lantern so she carried a little light-stick we bought for her.