1) Honor your father’s history. What events shaped his life? Have his tell a story of his childhood, ask him to teach you his favorite childhood game or song…
2) Honor your father’s outlook. What have you learned from him?
3) Honor your father’s dreams. What of his hopes for you, whether realized yet or not?

After reflecting on these questions, tell someone you care about (a friend, your partner, your children, or even your father) what came to your mind. For those whose fathers have died, perform a ritual for remembering: Play an album or read a book that he enjoyed, look through some family photographs, give to a cause that he supported, or visit a place that he liked.

Share his memory and tell someone a story from his life.

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One bitterly cold winter evening, the young Martin rode through the gates of Amiens on his fine, proud horse. He was dressed in the regalia of his military unit: gleaming armor, a bright helmet and a beautiful white cloak, lined with lambs wool. It was nearly freezing outside, but his thick cloak kept him warm. He was hardly aware  

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Cut one long side from an empty cardboard box. Decorate the box, inside and out, with pictures of vegetables and fruits. Make a table and chairs from twigs and blocks or use furniture from your doll house. Spread twigs and leaves on top of the box to form a roof. Then hang small bunches of fruits (such as grapes of currants) from the ceiling.

Source: Natural Childhood

There are many Thanksgiving celebrations and festivals celebrated all over the world. Most have their roots in the ancient festivals of light. Use this time to celebrate with your children and families and to learn about the festivals and cultural celebrations of your people, your roots.

Halloween Costume Suggestions:

Some ideas for non violet, non-Disney and non-TV costumes include: pumpkin, sun, elf, moon, prince/ss, knight, wizard, maiden, fairy, flower, gnome, butter- fly, forest child, honey bee, animals, storybook characters (Nils, Robin Hood, Rapunzel, etc.) or workers (mail delivery, fire fighter, construction, etc) and traditional dress from other countries also make lovely costumes. Of course, there is also my personal favorite:

“My name is Pippilotta Delicatessa Windowshade Mackrelmint Efraim’s Daughter Longstocking formerly the Terror of the Seas Now a Cannibal King!!!” Yes, My son was Pippi Longstocking one year. Some people questioned a boy being a girl, to which he also very knowledgably replied…. “This is Halloween and you can be whom or whatever you wish – and I am being Pippi because she is a wonderful character!”

Mabon: Celebrating the Autumn Equinox It’s the season of changing colors; crisp air filled with the scent of wood smoke; and festivals offering wine, hot cider, and apple pie. At this time of equal day and night, we give thanks for the harvest that will sustain us through the dark winter months. This book explores the history, legends, and traditions of the season that is honored from the Far East to the Celtic Lands, and from Scandinavia to South America. Create your own Mabon tradition with the help of the book’s many recipes, magical workings, equinox rituals, and crafts for all ages.

Brother Sun pushed the clouds aside and said: “Yes, it will be dark and cold. In the deep midwinter, warmth and light live deep within, hidden from sight. In the time of dark and cold, you will tend the Light Within.”

“But,” said George, “How will I tend this Light when it is dark everywhere around me?”

“I will give you a spark of my last Autumn rays, once you have made a little house for it, for this spark must be guarded well. It will light the way for you to tend the Light Within throughout the time of dark and cold.”

And then, Brother Sun once again hid behind a cloud.

George went home and wondered how best he could make a little house for the spark of the sun. He took a thick piece of paper and painted a beautiful blue and yellow watercolor upon it. When it was dry, he cut windows into it his painting. Then he placed colored tissue paper on the back of his watercolor — and — he formed it into a lantern. He took a candle and put it into the middle of his lantern. And as it was growing dark, he went outside with it.

George held the lantern up above him and said: “Brother Sun, I have made a little home for one of your golden sparks. Please may I have one? I will guard it well.”

Then Brother Sun looked out from behind a cloud and said: “You have made a beautiful home. I shall give you one of my golden sparks.”

And suddenly George saw how the windows of his lantern were lit up, and as he looked into the lantern he saw a spark happily dancing on top of the candle. Oh, how happy the light was in his lovely lantern. It shone and shone so brightly.

“Thank you, Brother Sun,” George called out, “thank you.” And he took his lantern and carried it carefully home, singing:

“The sunlight fast is dwindling
My little lamp needs kindling.
Its beam shines far in darkest night,
Dear Lantern, guard me with your light.”

From Autumn, Wynstones Press, originally by M Meyerkort. Revised by L. Sutter, Used with Permission

I’ve done this with my daughters for the last two years.

Although it’s recommended for Grade 1 or 2, my four year old managed with just a little help:-)

The first time, they were so surprised to see the pumpkin appear in their painting! We hung the paintings on our front door for Halloween and had so many nice comments…

Begin by painting a large golden yellow ball- this will be your pumpkin, but don’t tell them you’re painting a pumpkin.

Next, surround with

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Often times the Waldorf schools will hold a play in honor of St. Michael and his slaying of the dragon. In this play, Saint Michael is often seen being knocked to the ground and momentarily stunned by a dragon, usually played by several students in a long dragon costume. Of course, St. Michael bounces right back up and conquers the dragon. The key element of the Michaelmas festival is that it celebrates inner strength and courage. The festivities,include the enjoyment of a small feast after the play, which includes baked loaves of bread shaped like dragons. Dragons are a central theme of Michaelmas because St. Michael, who represents courage, is traditionally pictured subduing a dragon. The primary idea behind the festival of Michaelmas is to get children to face their own challenges – in other words, their internal and external dragons.

Because Michaelmas falls near the equinox, it is commonly associated with the beginning of autumn. So Waldorf schools also use Michaelmas to teach students the importance of using courage to prepare for the colder, darker, winter months.
It’s symbolic of darkness, so it’s important for children to have warmth inside with them. In addition to honoring St. Michael and marking the beginning of fall, Michaelmas represents harvest time – a time when people make preparations for the winter.

This page gives some history, several verses, a Michaelmas circle, some meditations and activities for Michaelmas as celebrated in Waldorf Schools.

The human being is woven with his whole existence and activity into the spiritual world. ~ Rudolf Steiner

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Q: Do you have any verses for Autumn?

A: I sure do! Here are a few of our favorite verses and even an Autumn story! Enjoy!

Autumn wind came stealing
Through the woods one day,
And creeping round the tree, he stole
Their beauty all away.
He tore their russet dresses,
Combed off their golden hair.
He blew away the tattered bits,
And left them brown and bare.

* * * * * * * *

Autumn winds are sighing,
Stealing through the forest brown,
As they softly pass the tree trunks
Little leaves come falling down.
But a stronger gale is blowing
And then the leaves themselves
Rise and dance about the forest
Just like little elves.
Faster, faster see them whirling
Till the gale has passed.
One by one the tired leaflets
Sink to rest at last.

* * * * * * * *

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As the weather becomes colder, and Halloween draws near, the Sugar Sprite Fairy requires more sugar to keep warm than she needs in the summer months. She knows that on Halloween, thousands of children will participate in an old custom we know as trick-or-treating, going door to door to collect sugary sweets. Because of this special ritual, there will be mountains of sweet and sugary candy in abundance. This is great news for the Sugar Sprite, and exactly what she needs to feed herself and her sweet family.

On All Hallows Eve, or Halloween as most of us now call it, the children are so excited that often they get careless – as they run door to door, they drop many pieces of candy – and The Sugar Sprite and all of her helpers are there to collect there. Yes, some children do sample some candy along the way while walking around in the cold night air, and it does tend to keep them warmer and more excited to keep on going door to door!

Some lucky children, those who know of The Sugar Sprite’s existence, they place their candy at the foot of their beds (or outside the front door, etc.) before going to sleep.

During the night, the friendly Sugar Sprite comes and takes the candy – and more often than not, she leaves a wonderful gift of thanks. This is almost always a wonderful new toy, some beautiful silks and playclips or that special something the child has been wishing for (after all, a Sugar Sprite is a Fairy, which means she knows exactly what it is you have been wishing!)

Yes, the Sugar Sprite knows what all children like, but sometimes the children write letters or make pictures for the sprite about a week before Halloween so she doesn’t get confused (she has to visit a lot of children to collect enough sugar for the coming winter!)

Enjoy your Halloween and Thank You for remembering and taking care of The Sugar Sprite!

This was a great feast to use up any produce that could not be stored for the winter. Prime beef was salted or “corned” – hence the Corned Beef we use today. Pork was soaked in brine, then rubbed in salt and hung in the rafters over the fire which slowly smoked the meat into filches of bacon and hams. Fish was cleaned and split flat to be packed between layers of salt until it was dried then hung in the rafters. Small fish, too small to hang were stored in oil in large pottery jars called crocks, after salting.

Many vegetables were also preserved for the bleak winters. Caggage was pickled in brine (saurktaut), onions and small cucumbers in vinegar (gherkins and pickled onions) and other vegetables like cauliflower, carrots and turnips were chopped up and dropped into boiling vinegar, with herbs and stored in pottery jars of oil for winter – we call this anitpasta today.

Fruit was dried (eg figs and grapes), made into wine or like apples stored in the dark, to slow the ripening process.

All of these methods are successful ways of preserving foods and have given rise to many delicacies we eat today (bacon, ham, herrings, pickles, salami, olives, kippers, bakala, tinned fish, raisins etc). However in the damp cold middle ages, when homes were not heated like today and nowhere near as dry, often the meat was turning or “off” before spring and the addition of herbs helped add some taste. Even if the meat was good, it had to be boiled to reduce the salt preservative to a level that was palletable. This boiling usually removed any flavour along with the salt. Herbs added some flavour. Herbs like Cardamom that only came from the mystical “Orient” were often worth more than gold, by weight.

Q: Do you have any ideas for the festivals of Michaelmas & Martinmas. They come so close together.

A: Our friend Renee was kind enough to share this story and idea for using it during the transition time between Michaelmas (September 29th) and Martinmas (November 11th). It really does fit well and is enjoyed by young children, who delight in helping to make the pancakes! (and YES, I have included the recipe!)

The Hungry Dragon

The dragon had not been out for days. It had been raining and he hated getting wet, but his stomach was growling. So, he went to the far corner of his cave and there, in his treasure chest, among gold coins and jewels, he found his rain boots, an old umbrella, and bucket for his cloudberries, special berries that grow in Norway.

He ventured outside. Looking up t the clouds and the pouring rain, he grumbled, “It’s miserable, but at least there aren’t any hunters out in this rain.” The dragon was afraid of hunters. Most of the dragons he had known had either been chased, like himself, into small caves high in the mountains or shot dead. There were no berries near  

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