Roots and Wings

General Category => Festivals => Topic started by: kt on August 30, 2010, 02:20:09 pm



Title: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: kt on August 30, 2010, 02:20:09 pm
Michaelmas is typically on or around September 29th. In terms of Anthroposophy- it is the celebration of our spirits coming back down from the heavens (as they soar during the summer time) into our bodies for deep soul introspection over the cold winter. This is depicted through stories about the Archangel Michael or St. Michael having cast Lucifer from the heavens. For example: St. George & the Dragon. If you want, you can search for this story & if you're unable to find it, let me know. I can find a way to share it.

We were itching to fly some kites yesterday. While I watched the boys run with their daddy & the kites soar, dive & gracefully glide to the ground, I again realized why we've flown kites to celebrate Michaelmas. It seems to be a visual lesson about greeting our spirits back into ourselves & all the potential lessons we can learn this season.

As Kari mentioned at the meeting last Thursday night, it would be awesome to get together & have some kite-flyin' fun & maybe some pot luck fun. We hope to be making the some creative & yummy dragon bread (just shaped like one, not tasting like one ;o).


Title: Re: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: kelly s on August 30, 2010, 02:50:39 pm
sounds like a fun time to me!


Title: Re: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: unschoolbus on August 30, 2010, 05:37:38 pm
Bryson is afraid of kites (not one of my better parenting moments) so we will sit this one out.


Title: Re: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: MommyPants on August 30, 2010, 09:00:45 pm
Sounds like a good time to me!


Title: Re: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: kelly s on August 31, 2010, 08:39:59 am
where do you get your kites?  or did you make them?


Title: Re: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: jenm on September 01, 2010, 11:09:53 pm
Thank you for your explanation, Katie.  I never "got" Michaelmas, but what you said makes so much sense to me. 


Title: Re: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: kt on September 02, 2010, 05:51:03 pm
Ooo, I just found the mother load of good stuff. Included are a few more Michaelmas stories! Yay! And lots of Autumn stories & songs & circle time fun! I love finding long lost stuff.


Title: Re: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: kt on September 02, 2010, 05:54:29 pm
Oh and re: kites. We've done both and since the ones that we've made haven't flown really well, we use store-bought ones also. Just ones we've collected over the years (some from Costco, others have been gifts). We have a really fitting dragon one that is pretty big. Oh and Jeff found a HUGE one at a garage sale ~ it's awesome!


Title: Re: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: MommyPants on September 13, 2010, 09:21:37 pm
I got St. George and the Dragon from the library today and I have to say that I was a bit surprised by how scary and gory it was.  I'm not sure how well some of our set would do with it, honestly.  The book I got was a collection of dragon stories and the next one was a story about outwitting the dragon instead of slaying it.  Would that be an appropriate substitute?  We've never celebrated Michalmas before, honestly, so I don't know all about it. 


Title: Re: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: unschoolbus on September 13, 2010, 09:37:50 pm
I am still unsure if we will be able to participate or not but less gore is better. These are young children :)


Title: Re: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: MommyPants on September 13, 2010, 09:44:07 pm
:teehee:  Oh, Nessa. 


Title: Re: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: kt on September 13, 2010, 11:06:29 pm
There are many other stories that are less gory. The dragon is just used to exemplify the struggle between good and evil, much like the balance of the light and dark. The Children's Book of Virtues edited by William J. Bennett has a great St. George story b/c the pictures aren't gory, they just reflect the struggle. Though, in An Overview of the Waldorf Kindergarten: Articles from the Waldorf Kindergarten Newsletter 1981 to 1992, Michael and the Dragon is more tame. And the ones we've been working on- Michaelmas Story of the Star Children by Corinne Batzell & St. Michael on the Crescent of the Moon (from a Polish Legend)- are quite beautiful & magical.

Autumn: A Collection of Poems, Songs & Stories for young children from Wynstones Press has a few . . . Crossing the Sea by E. Brooking and The Kite by U. de Haes

I plan on using the Star Children one and the Kite at the celebration ;o) Trying to memorize right now, in fact.  :)


Title: Re: Michaelmas Sept. 29th(ish)
Post by: MommyPants on September 14, 2010, 12:40:45 pm
Cool.  Sounds good.  :)