6 Winter Waldorf Festivals to Celebrate in December

Advent

The period beginning four Sundays before Christmas that is observed by most Christians in preparation for the celebration of Christmas Day. In Waldorf homes, Advent is recognized by representing the kingdoms of our planet each Sunday:

The first Sunday of Advent we recognize minerals and stones.
The second Sunday of Advent we recognize the plant kingdom.
The third Sunday of Advent we recognize the animal kingdom.
The fourth and last Sunday of Advent we recognize humankind.

We have so many beautiful ways to share with you on how to bring this sacred festival into your home or school in our publications:

December Preschool/Kindergarten Book (Ages 3-6)

December Afterschooling Book (Ages 6+, teens and adults)

Advent and St. Nicholas Festival Book (All Ages)

St. Nicholas Day, December 6th

Celebrated on December 6th (December 5th elsewhere) in many European countries to honor the Christian saint as the bringer of gifts. Boys would sometimes dress as bishops to give to the poor. Many children would wait for treats to be left under their pillows or shoes that were left out. In Waldorf homes and schools, this celebration continues with children leaving their shoes out the eve before (December 5th) to wake to small treats inside including chocolate, coins, fruits, nuts and sometimes a small toy. 

Where to find ideas for this beautiful celebration:

December Preschool/Kindergarten Book (Ages 3-6)

December Afterschooling Book (Ages 6+, teens and adults)

Advent and St. Nicholas Festival Book (All Ages)

Santa Lucia Day, December 13th

The Feast of St. Lucia or Santa Lucia is a festival of light, as are many of the celebrations this time of year. In some countries she is represented as a lady in a white dress with a wreath of candles in her hair. Many celebrate this special day by having the oldest daughter in the family wear a wreath in her hair and offer sweet buns or cookies to others. Boys also share a role by wearing star boy caps or dressing as St. Stephen. The procession is said to help all move forward with light into the deep, dark winter days ahead. 

In my Kindergarten class, we often made St. Lucy Buns as well as crowns and star boy hats for the children and had a walk around our playground and school. In the Little Acorn Learning guides we offer complete instructions for these activities as well as some more unique ideas such as planting indoor wheat for St. Lucia Day.

December Preschool/Kindergarten Book (Ages 3-6)

December Afterschooling Book (Ages 6+, teens and adults)

Winter Festivals Book (All Ages)

Hanukkah

This beautiful Jewish festival is often called the Festival of Lights. It is observed to recognize the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem. Often a menorah will be lit each evening for eight nights to represent the rededication of the Jewish faith and to spread the light to future generations. A fun game played during this time is the spinning of a dreidel and sometimes small gifts will be shared each of the eight days of spiritual acknowledgement. While my family is not Jewish, I always recognized this special festival in my classroom as the light of hope reaches beyond all faiths and backgrounds. 

Our Winter Festivals Book includes a beautiful tutorial on making a menorah with found nature items, a Star of David banner, as well as a paper menorah. We also have recipes and songs to share.

The Winter Solstice/Yule, December 21st 

The Winter Solstice is the shortest day of the year and the first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere. This day marks the winter season which continues until the Spring Equinox. Yule was celebrated before the conversion to Christianity in many cultures and this ancient festival still holds strong roots in all we see in the Winter Solstice as well as Christmastime. 

Celebrating the solstice is a magical time in Waldorf homes and schools. All of our books bring this warming festival into the lives of your children with warm recipes, songs, crafts and meditations. Creating a Yule Log was always a favorite in my classroom.

December Preschool/Kindergarten Book (Ages 3-6)

December Afterschooling Book (Ages 6+, teens and adults)

Winter Festivals Book (All Ages)

King Winter Celebration Book (All Ages)

Christmas Day, December 25th 

The day that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ in many Christian faiths (Eastern Orthodox faiths celebrate on January 7th). The four Sundays of Advent lead up to this sacred day.

In our home we have a beautiful tradition of an Advent Spiral calendar as well as other advent traditions such a nativity, advent wreath, mistletoe and Christmas tree. Culturally on this day, many children wake up to gifts from Santa Claus who travels the world to bring joy to those who believe. The tradition of Santa Claus stems from the long rooted tradition of celebrating St. Nicholas, the saint of giving. Many non-Christians still enjoy decorating and sharing gifts this time of year to share love and light with one another.

December Preschool/Kindergarten Book (Ages 3-6)

December Afterschooling Book (Ages 6+, teens and adults)

Advent and St. Nicholas Festival Book (All Ages)

Winter Festivals Book (All Ages)

Which of these December festivals do you celebrate? We hope we have inspired you to weave your own family traditions and customs into your winter celebrations and also try incorporating new ideas from some of the examples above.

Advent Meditations for Caregivers of Young Children

 Advent Meditations for Caregivers of Young Children

 ‘Mother’ by Mikulas Galanda

This hurried time of year can be very overwhelming for children and adults alike. Those of us who wish to bring true peace and awareness into this very special time leading up to Christmas Day can spend this next month looking inward and carving out moments of meditation, consciousness and reverence. 

These weekly meditations are just for you, the caregiver.  You work so very hard to give so much to your families, your students and those you care for, but in order to be the type of caregiver you wish to be it is very important to care for yourself as well. 

These Caregiver Meditations can be done after you light your Advent candle each Sunday and revisited throughout the week. 

Week One, Advent

Be hopeful.

“Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear.  If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today.”  - Thich Nhat Hanh

A hopeful ray of light is always waiting for you to follow. It is found within the silence of our darkest moments. It can be seen shining through all of our worries, concerns and insecurities. As we are ‘waiting’ these four weeks of advent, we can feel the hope growing inside of us in anticipation of new possibilities for ourselves and for our world. What wishes do you have for yourself and for your life? Are you appreciating the blessings you already have? How can you be the change you want to see in this world?

Week Two, Advent

Be peace.

 “Remain calm, serene, always in command of yourself.  You will then find out how easy it is to get along.”  - Paramahansa Yogananda

It is very easy to be at peace with yourself and others when things are going well. It is much more difficult to keep a peaceful attitude when life gets difficult, others disappoint you or cause you strife. You will find that when you lose your sense of peace within yourself or with others, it is because you have given up control to external events or individuals. When you are able to let the emotion pass but hold on tightly to your connection and commitment to peace within yourself, you will be able to remain centered throughout any situation. 

This type of self-control takes discipline and practice. Begin by noticing when agitation is building up within you and catching it with a deep breath and positive mantra. Find a word that will remind you to stay in control of your reactions and hold on to peace. Say it to yourself or out loud and recommit yourself to being in command of yourself. Speak when necessary and from a place of love and see how your new approach changes the situation. Most importantly, breathe. Breathing is the key to connect our physical beings to peace.

Week Three, Advent

Be joyful.

“The secret of joy in work is contained in one word – excellence.  To know how to do something well is to enjoy it.”  - Pearl Buck (1892 – 1973), The Joy of Children, 1964

Caring for our homes and our family is one of the most important duties in the world. When we create joy and peace within our own surroundings, our work can then extend outward into the rest of the world.

Each moment you share yourself with a child, you feed their soul. Each time you show reverence for the sanctity of the home and family, you teach a lesson to the world about what is truly important in this life.

Having respect and reverence for even the most mundane parts of your job is the secret to finding true joy in your work. You are helping to create a more peaceful planet with each task you do. Your work is truly sacred.

Week Four, Advent

Be love.

 “If I could put it simply, I would say that I believe there's a force of love and logic in the world, a force of love and logic behind the universe. And I believe in the poetic genius of a creator who would choose to express such unfathomable power as a child born in "straw poverty"; i.e., the story of Christ makes sense to me.”  - Bono

When our actions come purely from love, we remain grounded and rooted to our true source. We are love. This week stay firmly rooted in love with your responses, actions and decision making whenever possible. This can be quite challenging as we can often let our emotions and our mind take over. 

Many of us have an image that we hold within us of the love we want to receive from others. That image may have been with us since we were quite young. We may hold this picture of who the love of our life will be, who our children will be, and how we will be loved by those people in our lives. We may have imagined, or still do imagine, the day when this love that we find will come into our lives the right way and make us ‘whole’.

And because of this beautiful dream we have for ourselves, we can often be filled with resentment and worry when the people in our lives are not meeting our love expectations that we have placed on them. 

What we fail to remember is that we do not need anyone to make us ‘whole’. We already are. Nothing else is needed because love is what you are made of. 

When we let go of what we think our love should be… we are able to learn that the most wonderful part of loving another person is to be able to fully and completely love ourselves first.

We wish you deep peace and hope during this beautiful time of reflection and love.  Give yourself the gift of these special moments just for you.  

Share Your Holiday Traditions - A Giveaway!

This past Sunday was the first day of Advent and whether or not Advent fits within your family customs, the time leading up to the Winter Solstice and Christmas is a good time for contemplation, going within and working through unresolved issues in your heart.

In the Waldorf tradition, the weeks leading up to Advent are celebrated by creating reverence for each of the four different kingdoms: stones (earth), plants, animals and mankind.  There is something about this holistic look at this time of year that speaks to me so deeply and I do my best to use this time to dig deeper spiritually.

There are many traditions and customs during this season that families, schools and churches recognize.  Advent wreaths are often used with candles that are lit each Sunday leading up to Christmas time.  Baking cookies, lighting a menorah or adding an ornament to a Jesse Tree each day are other traditions that come to mind.

My family has begun our own unique traditions that I've shared in the Advent and St. Nicholas Festival E-Book such as our Advent Kindness Clock which includes a little act of kindness that can be done each day leading up to Christmas.

We also created a beautiful Advent Wall Spiral where my daughters place a special star each day of Advent time.

I would love to hear about the traditions and customs in your family this time of year.

In the comments section below, share with us your family traditions leading up to the Winter Solstice and Christmas.  On the second Sunday of Advent (Sunday, December 9th), in the evening, we will randomly choose three winners to receive a FREE copy of our Advent and St. Nicholas Day Festival Book or another of your choice!  Be sure to check back here to see if you won.

Good luck!
xoox

The Day Saint Nicholas Came

In Holland, children set their shoes

This night outside the door;

These wooden shoes Knecht Clobes sees

And fills them from his store.

But here some hang their stockings up

On handy hook or nail;

And Santa Claus, when all is still, 

Will fill them without fail. 

Speak out, you please, speak out

And let us hear your views;

Between a stocking and a shoe,

What do you see to choose?

One of the most lovely traditions I began with my daughters when I found Waldorf Education was to celebrate St. Nicholas Day. The evening before, the girls leave out their shoes and he comes and fills them with a few small treats, fruit or candy. This year... hot cocoa and chocolate coins. It is a long rooted tradition in many other countries but we enjoy this annual sweet precursor to Christmas and also still put our stockings out for Santa to fill on Christmas Eve.  

If you did not remember to leave your shoes out last night, do not feel like it is too late. St. Nicholas will come to you too. You can put them out whenever you wish.  I have a beautiful Advent and St. Nicholas Day festival ebook I created with my friend Sara Wilson of Love in the Suburbs to help you celebrate this month with the children leading up to Christmas Day if you are interested.

I've been working hard to continue the traditions I created with my children this year. It's a year of change for us and I often had to dig deep within to keep the consistency that I know my girls desperately need right now.  However, I feel that something has shifted in me recently and I am once again fully feeling, living and breathing these things I once cherished so much with them instead of just "acting as if". Maybe it is a sign of healing. 

I think when we are in pain and struggling through something, it is important to allow ourselves rest and freedom without guilt to let things go and just care for ourselves... but it is also a good practice to continue to strive, to try, to act "as if" in order to push forward toward the light of a new, happier tomorrow. I'm glad I did.  And I can see that my girls are glad I did too. Even teenagers who may act as if these things are silly and non-important need them desperately to remember that life goes on, happiness can always be found, and while many things change many things can also stay the same.

These beautiful candles were made by myself and my girls during the Candlemas Celebration my Lifeways group made during the last training I helped organize in Newtown, CT. I thought it was a perfect way to pull the year together by using something we created in the beginning of the year now at the end as we welcome in 2018.  It is both symbolic and meaningful to burn these candles away toward a new start.

Each year at Advent time, I put out this very simple nativity set. I love how pure and unassuming it is.  It reminds us not to be distracted this time of year by the colors, the lights and the bling.. but to remember what the true meaning of this time is and focus on the unseen truths all around us.  Each day we will move Mary and Joseph closer to the manger and on Christmas Day the baby will appear along with the wise men and the other animals.  

I've been preparing for the winter and decorating indoors and outdoors. We also chose and chopped down a live tree this year.  I'm grateful to be able to start new traditions while also keeping some old ones. 

It is empowering to do things that I relied on others to do for me for many years. I will never regret putting my career on hold and raising my girls but one thing I do regret is giving up my independence by becoming so consumed by caregiving for others. It is possible to raise a family without losing yourself or your knowledge of important aspects of your life. And it is not healthy to always feel responsible for others who should be able to be responsible for themselves as well. We also best serve those we love by helping them to be able to do for themselves. As a woman, I will make sure it is the one lesson learned I do my best to share with my girls. Never put your future or your life into other people's hands, even those who have your best interest in mind.  Do not lose your independence or your sense of self for anyone, even those you love with all your heart.

I am grateful to once again be able to model independence and strength to my daughters even during difficult times.  Our children are with us only for a short while... our dreams and goals matter too. Care for yourself and do not be sorry to do things that will provide you with happiness, independence and a future you can enjoy when your children are all grown up. If you are in a partnership, make sure it is just that. Be a part of it, not on the sidelines. You never know what life holds.

  

These girls have the biggest most loving hearts and came out to help me when they saw me working outside. I'm so lucky to be their mom. 

This year I thought how fun it would be to start a simple tradition of making gingerbread houses.  

Simple it is NOT!

We had so many laughs as we struggled together to keep our walls from falling, our icing from dripping and a huge mess on our hands.  Our houses were something hysterical to be seen... but we did make some pretty great memories. Better memories than if they turned out well, I think! 

 I would love to hear what type of traditions you and your family share during this time of year.  

Wishing all of you peace, love and happiness.

xoxo

The First Light of Advent...Remaining Hopeful

 The first light of Advent,

It is the light of Stones,

Stones that live in crystals,

Seashells and our bones.

 In Waldorf Education the first light of Advent represents stones. A pretty way to recognize this at home is to decorate your advent wreath with small gems, pebbles, shells, crystals or even a photo or sample of your child’s birthstone. For wonderful ways to celebrate the beautiful time of Advent and the festival of St. Nicholas Day, be sure to check out our e-book.

Today we attended a beautiful tradition at our church and made homemade advent wreaths with other parishioners. It is an event that I wanted to attend in previous years but our schedules never allowed. I am go glad we made the decision as a family to stay at this church. Recently I considered going back to the religion of my childhood, but after beginning the transition it became very clear that what we were searching for was already right where we were. Church for us should  be a second home, a place to connect to God, a place to feel connected to our community but MOST of all, a place that welcomes us and others with open arms no matter where we are on our paths. Just as we believe Jesus does.

Our days have been full of preparing for the holiday season. It's been a time of family and warmth and I'm grateful that the holidays can pull us together like this. I was also grateful that my oldest daughter was home from college and could be a part of all of our family time.

We made paper snowflakes (nowadays they have cool templates online to make it easier!)

 We decorated our tree and I made the girls take the obligatory 'decorating the tree together' photo (don't they look so natural?)

We put up our Christmas Village. My mother-in-law gave me each and every piece to this amazing village. It takes a full afternoon to get just right but it's really worth it and the girls love it so much. They look forward to finding each familiar piece and helping me to decide how our North Pole Village should look.

They each decorated their rooms with leftover Christmas lights and their own special little tree.

And we helped one another decorate the outside of the house. Their dad did most of the work to be fair. It really looks beautiful and took all weekend to get done. 

As we have been taught, the first week of Advent is for HOPE. 

So, as we blow out our first advent candle this evening, I make a wish that all of us remain hopeful.  Hopeful for ourselves.  Hopeful for our loved ones.  And most of all, hopeful for our world.

Happy St. Nicholas Eve!

Tonight St. Nicholas comes to many households and leaves small tokens and goodies in children's shoes that are left out.  Sometimes he leaves candies that look like gold coins, gum or apples and fruit.  Simple little things.  Nothing that requires much planning.

Will your children be leaving their shoes out for St. Nicholas tonight?  Is he the same man as Santa Claus in your home?

In addition to our Advent and St. Nicholas Festival E-Book, The Saint Nicholas Center is a beautiful website FILLED with ideas, stories, games and history on St. Nicholas to help you bring this beautiful tradition into your home and fill it with the true meaning of Christmas this holiday season.

And, as a special treat to you for today only:

Happy St. Nicholas Eve! 

What will St. Nicholas leave in your shoe?
Here's a little gift from Little Acorn Learning to YOU!

ONE DAY SALE - 50% OFF our Advent and St. Nicholas Festival E-Book

Get this amazing e-book for only $9.99 to help you celebrate this special evening and 
Advent all month and for years to come!

Act FAST - Sale is for today, December 5th ONLY! 

Wishing you a BEAUTIFUL ST. Nicholas Weekend filled with family, love and peace.  We would love to hear about how you celebrate this beautiful ancient festival day.

xoxo

Time to Breathe and New E-Book Releases!

For the last two months, we have been working feverishly around here writing and creating two wonderful new e-books through Little Acorn Learning.  The children have been helping me with the crafts and in the evenings and on weekends I have been carving out time to write.

My partner in this Festival Series project, Sara Wilson of Love in the Suburbs, is so amazingly talented and organized and it has been a pure pleasure to work with someone who is such a kindred spirit.  We have truly become dear connected friends on opposite sides of the United States and I am so grateful to have her in my life.  I look forward to phone calls, emails and texts from Sara to brighten my spirit when the deadlines are creeping up behind me.  One day maybe we will even meet in person now that we have written a ton of books together.  :)

One of the things I love most about this work I do is that it fully includes my children.  While it is very time consuming to plan, organize, write, create and upload the material - the entire process could not be without  my girls by my side.  They are my testers, my crafters, my assistants, my idea generators and my little person point-of-view go-to team.  They are my loves.  

I hope they will not only remember a mama who worked many hours and needed to spend a lot of time in the evenings on the computer running a business.... but I hope they also remember the special time we shared together as these e-books took form, almost as they were given to us from above - a pure gift.

 My hope is that our labor of love will also be a gift to other families.  I hope you spend time crafting and singing and getting your hands dirty with your children as you work through our books.

I hope you know that we not only do this for an income, we do it with the hope, that in our own little way, we are somehow making the world a better place for children and their caregivers.

As the beauty of the winter season approaches, know that with everything we do - your families are in our hearts and minds and we wish you love, peace and joy with your family and friends this holiday time and always.

So without further ado, we are PLEASED, EXCITED, RELIEVED? to announce the release of two huge e-books (that were supposed to be one winter e-book but grew so big we had to split it in half!):

The Advent and Saint Nicholas Festival E-Book
and
The Winter Festivals E-Book

handcrafted with love from all of us at Little Acorn Learning

xoxo

Then Comes Santa Claus

O Children, Little Children

You Must Be Good Because...
A Few Short Days Brings Christmas Eve

And Then Comes Santa Claus!
And Somebody Will Tell Him

All You've Said And Done...
For Many A Week

And If He's Pleased...
Heigh Ho! Look Out For Fun!!!
(this sweet little note was on Maia's desk when I tucked her into bed last night - the spirit of Christmas is truly alive in our house right now)

First Sunday of Advent

In Waldorf Homes many people follow Rudolf Steiner’s teaching on celebrating the four kingdoms separately each week:

Week One begins with honoring the mineral kingdom by placing stones, shells, bone fossils, crystals, etc. on the wreath. Invite your family to choose their favorites from their collections or found in nature and place on wreath.

“The first light of Advent, it is the light of stone.
Stones we find in seashells, crystals, and even our bones.”
~ Rudolf Steiner (adapted)

Today my family and I will spend our time decorating our home, our tree and lighting the first candle on our Advent wreath at dinner time.

How will you spend your day?

xoxo

Third Light of Advent

~~~~~
“The third light of Advent is the light of beasts,
Beasts who walk upon the earth, the greatest and the least.”
~ Rudolf Steiner (adapted)

The Light of Plants

“The second light of Advent is the light of plants.
Plants that reach up to the skies and in the breezes dance.”
~ Rudolf Steiner (adapted)