Waldorf Festivals

A very magical aspect of the school journey lives in the rhythm of the seasons through the year and the festival celebrations that connect us all to nature and our families and communities. Over time, these special celebrations bring to life and create small and large traditions, connections, and countless memories. At the same time, journeying through the year(s) in rhythm and harmony with the seasons, we honor and expand our relationship as human beings to the Earth, the stars, the seen, and the unseen. These special moments of transitions are imbued with wisdom and creative potential. In them, we can feel and see the remarkable weavings of that which we recognize as seen and earthly and that which we feel as unseen, divine, and imbued with spirit. In our celebrations, we bring to life activities that allow us to continually harmonize and deepen these relationships through heart-centered doing flowing out of heart-imbed thinking. If we dance into the festival times with loving hearts and open minds, we just might find ourselves in a magical moment where past, present, and future all meet to greet us and bless us with a drop of inspiration and wisdom-imbued guidance.

"Here’s a branch of snowy May, a branch the fairies gave me. Who would like to dance today with a branch the fairies gave me? Dance away, dance away, holding high the branch of May." – Unknown

In a few days, at the beginning of May, various communities worldwide will be celebrating the joy and blossom-filled time that relates to the time of transition between spring and summer. Among Waldorf school communities, this festival is most often called Mayfest or May Day. Still, a little journey through the stories from various traditions around the world will allow us to find it in various forms and with various names in many different parts of the world, having in common its lively mood and colorful presence of local environment and nature.

Over the years, I have been blessed to experience seasonal festivals honored and celebrated in so many different ways. Those experiences have been some of the most preciously inspiring and heart-opening gifts for me, as I trust they are for all of you, too. Families create their traditions, small communities and co-ops come together, and as each family brings in their inspirations and joys, a new festival celebration is birthed. As communities expand, they share these joys and inspire new groups and new families to create their own ways of living in harmony with the cycles and seasons in their parts of the world. So much can be felt, learned, and experienced when connecting during these special times of the year. While developing our personal and family seasonal festival traditions is profoundly transformative, connecting and sharing seasonal festivities with friends and our local and global communities can transform our relationships to nature and each other. Each festival can serve as an invitation to feel and rebalance the harmony between the soul of our environment and us and as a gateway towards learning about different communities, traditions, and ways of walking and creating beauty and life on our dear Earth.

 Some activities we always look forward to during the first days of May:

• Flower Crowns – weaving and wearing flower crowns made from local plants in bloom
• Seasonal music – played by friends and family members or shared by community members and visitors filled with joy and revelry
• Creating small woven baskets and filling them with little bouquets of blooms to hang as decoration or to give to visitors who might be stopping by
• Creating streamers from sticks and colorful ribbons
• Joining in a MayPole Dance
• Playing outdoors, climbing trees, exploring nearby creeks and woods
• Making and playing with bubble wands
• Jumping rope, running, making, and having fun with shorter and longer obstacle courses
• Sharing a picnic meal with family and friends

~Ms. Daniela:  Class 1 Teacher at Seasons of Seven

Read more blog posts on Festivals HERE.