Category: Festivals
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Michaelmas, 2025
Today is Michaelmas, otherwise known as the Day of Courage. It is the time in the year when the cooling forces of autumn sober the party of summertime growth. It is also the harvest time. In most Waldorf schools, stories are told, songs are sung, and a pageant features the Archangel Michael taming the terrible…
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Homeschool Easter
Homeschool Easter. You don’t have to be Christian to connect to its mythos and find value in its celebration. Of course, Christianity imbues this spring holiday with rich imaginations, but that’s not the point. The point is the resurrection of life as shown in these common symbols: In this post, I give some indications for…
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Winter or Advent Spiral
This week, I wanted to write a post about making winter holidays meaningful, especially for adolescents and teens. I will focus on the Winter or Advent Spiral, commonly done in Waldorf settings. The principles, however, are broadly applicable to other traditions as well, so extrapolate as necessary. The Difference Between Children and Adolescents At puberty,…
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Michaelmas Reflections
A pale, yet warm, light glows in our garage this evening. The stars are coming earlier each night, and the air they bring grows crisper. The crop vines are withering from green to yellow to brittle brown. They’ve made their fruits, given them as gifts to the next generation, and now they’re passing from an…