Martinmas: Warmth and Hope for All of Us

Each day is getting shorter as we approach the cold, dark winter. We begin to miss and long for the light-filled warmth of the nurturing sun. We may experience sadness, loneliness, depletion, or even illness. Where did the sun go? We need it!

As we stand at the gates of winter, looking into the dark and despair of coming days, we are reminded of St. Martin and the warmth and hope of his story.

The Martinmas festival comes to us from France, and is a celebration of one of their patron saints, St. Martin du Tours (316-397 AD).

Late one evening, while serving in the army of Amiens, Martin passed under an archway and discovered a poor beggar huddled there, wearing only rags. The young man was shivering with cold and, upon seeing him, young Martin took his own cape from his shoulders, tore the garment in half, and covered the poor man to warm him. The following night, Martin had a dream in which he saw an angel wearing the same piece of his cape. This experience confirmed to him his devotion to all mankind, regardless of their station in life.

In a way, we are all the “beggar” in the story of Martinmas. During this season of Martinmas, we can tend to feel isolated from others, or need extra support.

Can we, at the same time, also be like Martin and share what we have been granted on earth?

Many Waldorf schools celebrate this goodness and light that was courageously ignited at Michaelmas, exuberantly celebrated at Diwali, and now reverently kindled at Martinmas during our Lantern Walk.

In the Early Childhood and Elementary programs, children and their families gather to walk in the quiet calm of the evening. We can help instill a mood of reverence with our children by quietly walking or singing. The simple image of a small light bringing relief in the darkness, paired with a community of voices joining together, gives our smallest children a powerful sense of inner strength and trust in goodness.

As a child’s individuality further develops, so do their unique gifts and talents.

In the Fourth Grade, our children are discovering who they are and benefit especially from opportunities to demonstrate leadership. And so, starting in the Fourth Grade, students are asked if they would like to volunteer to provide light to the community in other ways on the festive evening of Martinmas.

These students can be found singing songs of warmth, light, and joy while the younger children and their families take the Lantern Walk; or they might take on the creative role of posing in a vignette that represents a scene in the Martinmas story. In this way, older students who are especially enthusiastic about singing or bringing the story to life can now take on a new role, giving the gift of song and sharing their light with the community.

In the Middle School, our students take time to reflect back on all the years of celebrating each festival as they approach these magical days on the calendar. The students delight in recalling their favorite lantern building projects, or the feelings they had of the enveloping darkness while walking the trails as the little ones they once were. Who still has one of their lanterns from the earlier years, they might be asked. Some surely will still have all of them. What a treasure for these older students to carry not only into this season of darkness, but into all future seasons in their life’s journey.

The story tells us that Martin shares half of his cloak with the beggar. Why a half?

This is the symbolic nature of sharing: half of the gift is of the earth (the physical cloak) and the other half is of the heavens (a generosity of spirit).

This is what we can carry within us as we guide our children on the Lantern Walk, or through challenging moments at school, or in our own day-to-day struggles. Whatever we find to give in our relationships, whenever we participate wholeheartedly in intentional community, this becomes the vessel from which goodness can rain down upon the earth.

May the light in our hearts shine bright and remind us all of the warmth each of us brings to the world.

Chiaki Uchiyama is Cedarwood’s Pedagogical Director, and teaches the Japanese language program to our middle school students. Born and raised in Yokohama, Japan, Uchiyama Sensei moved to the United States in 1997 and taught Japanese language at Cedarwood for 20 years before becoming the Pedagogical Director in 2018.

After working with several community development organizations, Julie Sauton realized she wanted to work with community in a deeper way through education. She came to Cedarwood most recently from The East Bay Waldorf School, where she was a lead preschool teacher and director of the preschool program.

Antonella Focarino received a full scholarship to attend the Eugene Lange College at The New School in New York City, during which time she also worked with children and adults with physical and cognitive differences. She discovered the importance of meeting and engaging people as individuals, and her interest in curative education was ignited. In Portland, she earned the Early Childhood and Grades Comprehensive Teaching Certificate for Waldorf Educators from the Micha-el Institute, and worked in Early Childhood programs in the area before taking a grades position at Cedarwood.

Natalie Norman completed her BA in Humanistic Studies and Environmental Education at UWGB and then continued to fulfill her dreams of working with both nature and children in various settings, including a botanical garden, community garden, and an outdoor school program called Trees for Tomorrow. Her love for outdoor adventures led her to the Pacific Northwest, where she earned her teaching certificate from the Micha-el Institute and found the perfect school to share her passion for lifelong learning — Cedarwood! She is now entering her 14th year at Cedarwood, taking on many roles in leadership and committee work over the years.