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.
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.
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
