5 Tips for Celebrating Festivals at Home

Celebrating festivals at home is a major part of the homeschooling journey. Many homeschoolers who come from a Waldorf or sacred background find great value and even strength from honoring the festival year. Traditionally, most Waldorf schools’ festival year looks something like this:

• September or October – Rosh Hashanah
• September 28 – Michaelmas
• November 11 – Martinmas
• December – Advent/Winter Spiral, Hanukkah, Winter Solstice
• February 1 – Imbolc/St. Brigid’s Day
• Spring – Easter/Passover
• May 1 – May Day
• June – Summer Solstice/St. John’s Day
• *Ramadan/Eid moves throughout the year, but schools especially in diverse areas are increasingly including it.

Festivals connect us to our sacred traditions, the living wholeness of nature from which they sprang, and to the curriculum. Thereby, they are a vital part of the homeschool curriculum that should not be overlooked.

Tip#1 for Celebrating Festivals at Home: Don’t Sterilize the Sacred. Instead, Add More!

One of the criticisms of Waldorf schools in the past has been that it’s Christian-centric, but that was never the intention. The first Waldorf School in Stuttgart had many Jewish families and teachers. These days, Waldorf Schools have everything – Christians, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, non-denominationalists, agnostics, etc.

However, in an effort to appeal to more people and look inclusive, Waldorf Schools have sterilized names like “Michaelmas” and “Advent Spiral” in favor of “Fall Festival” and “Winterfaire.” I advise against this because, in our zeal for inclusivity, it risks watering everything down to meaninglessness.

Instead, I advise that when celebrating festivals at home, keep the existing sacred festivals and just add more! That makes the experience so much richer for the students, anyway. Don’t get rid of Michaelmas, for example. Instead, add Rosh Hashanah and Samhain, for example. The more, the merrier. It’s possible to celebrate festivals that are not out native tradition, and we will be enriched by it.

Tip#2 for Celebrating Festivals at Home: Songs, Songs, Songs and Crafts, Crafts, Crafts

Music is a cornerstone of celebrating festivals at home. One can feel the soul essence of a culture through its music, like the characteristic Phrygian mode of Hebrew music. You can just touch the essence of a folk through their music. Songs of the Earth by Anna Kealoha is an excellent resource for multiethnic music.

Crafts also connect us with the essence of festivals. Making lanterns at Martinmas, for example, is a beautiful expression of the inner light which starts to shine out from human hearts when the outer light has waned.

Tip#3: Connect Festivals with Their Natural and Spiritual Roots

Many festivals find their roots in nature, even if they seem “religious.” For example, Michaelmas stands at the threshold of summer and autumn, a time which calls for inner courage as we face the long, dark, cold part of the year. As such, this day of courage cannot be better placed at any other time. Similarly, Imbolc or St. Brigid’s Day stands at the moment when the sap starts secretly running up the trees symbolizing a subtle, yet sensible, quickening in the season.

Whatever festivals you celebrate, connecting them with nature gives them relevance and tangibility. It shows that the spirit behind them is not something that works in the abstractions of ivory towers but which lives in the interconnected wholeness of nature. Put differently, the spirit works outside and inside us, and festivals help us see how “outside” and “inside” form a mutually reflective whole. This, in turn, helps us preserve the intuitive, creative thinking capacities in our children as they realize that nothing is arbitrary in the world. It all works together in harmony.

It’s also important to connect festivals to their spiritual roots. As a Muslim mother of one of our students explained, Ramadan deepens her spiritual practice, sense of charity, connection to her family and community, among other things. It’s an important time to cleanse and reset the inner being for he next round of inner and outer work and growth.

Tip#4: Tell Stories Around the Festival Reflecting Its Meaning

We just passed Samhain/Halloween/All Saint’s Day/All Soul’s Day this past weekend. It was a very rich time. There are many good stories to tell around this series of holidays. Of course, a good witch or ghost story, age appropriate of course, goes a long way. However, one can also tell stories of threshold transformations, like a caterpillar going into a cocoon to become a butterfly. Here is a good resource for such stories, and don’t think these are only good for little children. Such beautiful seasonal images can touch the hearts even of older children, for their truths are timeless.

Tip#5: Don’t Forget the Food

What would a good festival be without the food? Food is another vital important way to experience a culture from whence a festival comes. It’s also an important part of Tip #3 above because it connects us with the nature of he festival. For example, bobbing for apples at Michaelmas reminds us of the harvest. Similarly, dandelion wine (non-alcoholic) is a great thing around May Day, connecting students with the flavors of the season.

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