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.

Celebrate St. Lucia Day on December 13th

Another beautiful festival we love to celebrate at Little Acorn Learning is St. Lucia Day. This year it falls this Thursday. Always on December 13th. 

Each one of our December books gives sweet ways to celebrate this special day in your home or school. Our December Childcare Book (Ages 3-6, Schools & Families) includes songs, recipes, a game and crafts. The December Afterschool Guide (Ages 6+, Schools & Families) includes a beautiful Swedish story of St. Lucia, a special craft and a indoor gardening activity for this special festival. Our Winter Festivals Book (All Ages, Schools & Families) includes even more activities for this time of year. 

Without giving away too much of the goodies in our books, here are some simple ways to help you acknowledge this time with the children. Remember you do not have to do it all on Thursday! You can celebrate any time or a little each day this week.

A lovely recipe to make St. Lucy Buns with the children:

taken from our December Little Acorn Learning Guides

Supplies Needed:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup scalded milk
1/3 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
6 packages of dry active yeast
dash of salt
2 eggs, beaten
6 - 8 cups sifted flour
1/3 cup raisins

Mix butter, cream and salt and stir. Mix yeast, milk and 2 tablespoons of the
sugar – leave aside for 10 minutes or more until it foams. Mix both butter
mixture and yeast mixture along with one of the beaten eggs and remaining
sugar. Gradually stir in the flour until a stiff dough forms. Put the mixture
on a floured surface and knead 10 minutes. Add more flour if necessary.
Place dough into a greased bowl, cover and let it rise until it doubles in bulk.
Divide dough into 5” strips about 1” wide. Shape the strips into an ‘S’ shape
and decorate with raisins. Brush with the remaining beaten egg and place on
greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise for one hour. Bake at 400 degrees
approximately 10 minutes (until lightly brown, check buns often)

A sweet book to read for St. Lucia Day (so many more book recommendations in our above publications):

 

A little verse:

Evening Star

Sunset glow is fading

In the western sky

Birds have stopped their singing

Cool winds rustle by

Now the star of evening

Shining clear and bright

With its steady gleaming

Welcomes in the the night.

Star Luminary and a Winter Festival E-Book Giveaway!

 I do behold the world,

Wherein there shines the sun,

Wherein there gleam the stars,

Wherein there lie the stones,

The plants, they live and grow,

The beasts they feel and move,

And man to spirit gives

A dwelling in his soul.

I do behold the soul

That lives within me.

God’s spirit lives and weaves

In light of sun and soul,

In heights of worlds without

In depths of soul within.

Spirit of God, to thee,

I turn myself and ask

That strength and grace and skill

For learning and for work

In me may live and grow.

~Rudolf Steiner

 Happy St. Lucia Day from Little Acorn Learning!

Each year we do our best to celebrate the seasonal festivals in our home.  This beautiful winter festival of light is one of my very favorites.  This year, I wanted to create something fresh and new to adorn our home with in the spirit of light and love.  Last night, I thought how beautiful it would be to make some sort of a Star Luminary and this is what I came up with.  :)  It was not easy the way we did it but it could surely be simplified.  

We used roof flashing and cut it the size that would be right to create the cylinder part of the luminary.  We then used a pencil to outline simple shapes (moon, stars) and placed a piece of wood underneath the flashing laid out flat.  Using a hand drill, we carefully made holes outlining our shapes.  We also added holes to the edges and top to adhere the luminary together with flexible wire.  In addition we cut a top out for our project (this is not necessary and please be sure there is enough distance from the candle and enough ventilation).  After the designs were completed, we used the flexible wire to join the two sides together and then again on top, weaving in and out to join our top piece to the cylinder.  As you can see we added wooden stars we drilled holes in in order to  make it more artful.  

From Wikipedia:  

"Saint Lucia's Day (sometimes Lucy for short) is the Church feast day dedicated to Saint Lucy and is observed on the 13th of December. Its modern day celebration is generally associated withSweden and Norway but is also observed in Denmark, Estonia, Italy, Latvia, Finland, Hungary, Malta, Bosnia, Bavaria, Croatia, Slovakia, Spain and St. Lucia, West Indies.^{[citation needed]} In the United States it is celebrated with cookies on the mantel in states for a large number of people of Scandinavian ancestry, often centered around church events.

A girl in the Lucia procession in Sweden, 2007

In traditional celebrations, Saint Lucy comes as a young woman with lights and sweets. It is one of the few saint days observed in Scandinavia. In some forms, a procession is headed by one girl wearing a crown of candles (or lights), while others in the procession hold only a single candle each."

A traditional bread to make with the children this week to celebrate St. Lucia Day are these delicious St. Lucy Buns (remember that you can celebrate this festival ANY time this week - don't worry if you missed it today).  

I'm excited about how this new project came out.  It is perfect to protect our favorite candle from the winter wind.  A great way to celebrate this week would be to enjoy an outdoor campfire and star gazing evening.  Maybe make a few hot cups of cocoa and bring your buns too?

During the day, our luminary is going to stay within our Advent wreath until Christmas morning.  

 

Sara has a beautiful post and simple star boy crown idea to help get you into the mood as well:  Love in the Suburbs

We also have so many more amazing ideas for you in our Winter Festivals E-Book...

so maybe you'd like to win a FREE copy?

Here's how:

Visit our Facebook Page if you LIKE us!

Spread the word about the Little Acorn Learning Festival E-Books by asking family and friends to check them out in a Facebook post and sharing our link http://www.littleacornlearning.com

Comment here and let us know if you are familiar with this fun festival and if so, how you are celebrating it!

We will announce the random winner on Saturday, December 15th and they will receive our Winter Festivals E-Book for FREE (a $24.99 value!!!) so be sure to check back.

Love and Light of Lucia to All!
xoxo