Lantern Night

It is a tradition in Germany for K- 3rd grade to celebrate St. Martin by walking though the town with hand made lanterns. Jacob is attending German Kindergarten in Holzen, the next town over. We had a beautiful night for this celebration. All the children decorated lanterns that week in school. Families joined in the walk stopping every so often to sing. We ended at the park by having kinder punch, hot dogs and pretzels by a bonfire. It was a beautiful night !

St. Martin's Day (or Martinstag or Martinmas) is November 11, the feast day of Martin of Tours, who started out as a Roman soldier. 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 Jesuswas 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."