Laterne, Laterne
Veteran's Day was also St. Martin's Day around here. Last year I wrote about the story behind this German holiday HERE. Anyway, I really enjoy St. Martin's Day. The story is sweet, the lanterns are beautiful, and it is so nice to walk through the streets singing songs with our neighbors and friends.
This year I bought little kits from Samantha and Natalie's school to make our lanterns for the celebration. We made an owl, a cat, a hedgehog, a bee, and a bear. They were really cute and pretty easy to make, but they did take some time to put together. Samantha and Natalie learned some St. Martin's Day songs at school and Samantha actually had a speaking part in the play. Her line was: Da braucht er dich, Da braucht er mich, Die Grossen und die Kleinen. I think it means - He needs you, he needs me, the big and the small ones. She did a really good job and I was so happy that her teachers included her in the play; it helped to build her confidence when speaking German.
This year the weather on St. Martin's Day was a combination of Wyoming and Germany - rainy with 50 mph winds. We were foolish and decided to walk the short distance to the school for the celebration. Our poor paper lanterns will never be the same. Because of the weather the parade was held inside the town's gymnasium instead of outside. The lights were turned off, the kids all turned on their lanterns, and we walked around and around the gym. Not quite as fun as last year with the big bonfire and St. Martin leading the way on horseback.
This year I bought little kits from Samantha and Natalie's school to make our lanterns for the celebration. We made an owl, a cat, a hedgehog, a bee, and a bear. They were really cute and pretty easy to make, but they did take some time to put together. Samantha and Natalie learned some St. Martin's Day songs at school and Samantha actually had a speaking part in the play. Her line was: Da braucht er dich, Da braucht er mich, Die Grossen und die Kleinen. I think it means - He needs you, he needs me, the big and the small ones. She did a really good job and I was so happy that her teachers included her in the play; it helped to build her confidence when speaking German.
This year the weather on St. Martin's Day was a combination of Wyoming and Germany - rainy with 50 mph winds. We were foolish and decided to walk the short distance to the school for the celebration. Our poor paper lanterns will never be the same. Because of the weather the parade was held inside the town's gymnasium instead of outside. The lights were turned off, the kids all turned on their lanterns, and we walked around and around the gym. Not quite as fun as last year with the big bonfire and St. Martin leading the way on horseback.
How we miss St. Martin's Tag! Just the other day the kids were remembering the pretzels--coated in sugar and pure deliciousness. I'm so glad you are all "seizing the day" in Germany--you will have memories forever.
ReplyDeleteAs to linking to another page, go to the compose page, highlight the words (like HERE) that you want, choose the green deelio that says "LINK". A blank spot will then come up on a separate screen that asks for the webpage address. Put it in. Done. I have never used so many untechnical terms to describe something like this :-) Good luck!