Martinmas Celebration

Martinmas is the feast day for St. Martin of Tours. St. Martin was born a Roman citizen in 316 A.D. He was raised in a pagan household yet began to attend a Christian church at the age of 10 and was baptized at the age of 18. At the age of 15, as the son of a veteran officer, he was required to join the cavalry. Yet, even as a Roman soldier he was committed to living out his Christian faith. Legend has it that "on a cold day, Martin met a poor man, almost naked, trembling, and begging from passersby. Martin had nothing but weapons and clothes. He drew his sword, cut his cloak into two pieces, and gave one to the beggar. That night in his sleep Martin saw Christ dressed in the half of the garment he had given away, and heard Him say: "Martin, still a catechumen, has covered me with his garment." (Excerpt from Picture Book of Saints). I present St. Martin to my children as an illustration of charity and being God's light in a dark world. Interestingly, traditional activities related to Martinmas include making lanterns and going on a lantern walk, which, particularly during this time of year with its shortened days, seems to symbolize taking God's light out into a world that is increasing in darkness, and planning and participating in a charitable activity. It, also, is a good opportunity to begin preparing our hearts for Christmas, the celebration of the true light entering this world.

St Martin's feast day is on November 11, we chose to celebrate Martinmas a little early.

The evening before, I set out our lanterns, those made this year and those made in years past, the picture book of Saints, a coloring sheet

and the elements needed for our charitable project so that we could get right to work in the morning.

By the light of the lanterns we read the biographical information regarding St. Martin and colored the sheet to add to the history notebooks.

We then assembled festive packages of hot chocolate and cake or cookie mix with a tag saying, "From Our Home to Yours. Merry Christmas!"

We serve at a community food pantry and will give these to each family that comes to the pantry just before Christmas.

In the evening, we roasted hot dogs and sausages over a campfire,

went on a lantern walk,

and then came home to hot apple cider (or hot chocolate for the one who doesn't drink cider) and a sweet treat,

all enjoyed by lantern light!

Happy Martinmas!

And don't forget to let your light shine!

Making Martinmas Lanterns

On Monday, we got busy making our Martinmas lanterns.

We used diluted glue to adhere tissue paper to balloons.

Here is layer one. Maceo's is on the right and Bishop's is on the left.

Working on layer number two.

I decided to join in on all the fun.
My first layer is on the far left.

It is helpful to let each layer dry before moving on to the next.

Maceo opted to only do two layers but, today, Bishop and I added a third for strength.

After the final layer dried thoroughly we popped the balloon.
The lantern creaks and begins to pull in on itself a bit as the balloon separates from the lantern.
But the lantern is surprisingly resilient and pops right back into shape.
Finally, we punched a couple of holes in the lantern, tied string on as a handle and popped in a candle. I will show you final pictures of the lanterns in my next post as I share with you our Martinmas celebration.

Thanksgiving Decorating Continues

More Thanksgiving decorating completed.

This little vignette is on top of my tv armoire.

I am so enjoying the creative process of assembling such a vignette.
It is energizing me - inspiring me to continue to create
and inspiring me to get my house clean,
for a thing of such beauty cannot really shine in an unkempt house.

Thanksgiving Decorations

I have finished the first element for my Thanksgiving decorating and it will give you some idea as to what is yet to come.

The decorating will involve oranges and browns-

burlap and found objects!

Anticipating Thanksgiving

The holidays are rapidly approaching and a little planning is in order.

I like having all my ideas and plans in one central location.

This year, my Thanksgiving plans will be housed in this little folder.

Within the folder are menus, shopping lists, decorating ideas, and possible activities.

Paper clipped beneath the notebook paper are relevant coupons and the recipes I will be using.

I don't jot the recipes down on the pages of paper; I like to have them loose so that I can post them above the stove or set them on the counter as I prepare the meal.

I also began to piddle around with decorating and tablescaping ideas.

I find these things to be quite inspirational.

I am sure that they will find their way into my decorating.

I am greatly anticipating creating a beautiful atmosphere for my family's Thanksgiving celebration!

It's Cold Outside but it's Warm in Here

A cold front has moved in and we are making the most of it.
We are hunkering down in front of a fire,
watching The Great Pumpkin a little belatedly,

and munching on yummy caramel apples.

It is a delightful way to spend any evening,
and especially a cold evening.
It is also a reminder that there are many cold evenings yet to come.
And has me contemplating how best to prepare for the cold, snowy, icy days to come -
you know, those days where you just can't get out of the house or you really just don't want to get out of the house.
I know I need to get my fireplace cleaned out and check my stock of wood but beyond that...
are there special books I can set aside to read on those long cold days? or maybe special games? or possibly some art projects? and how about some special foods tucked away for just that day?
What does your family like to do while hunkering down on those cold days?

Tweaking and Anticipating

I began tweaking the porch decorations just a bit today.
I couldn't bear to say goodbye to the jack-o-lantern
or the crows just yet,
but I am anticipating Thanksgiving
and the holiday season to come.

I added more fall color gleaned from a young maple tree
on my property.
I like it! It makes me smile and reminds me to enjoy these Autumn days!
It reminds me that, although the much-anticipated holidays are just around the corner,
I must enjoy what this season has to offer!
It reminds me to enjoy the warmth and the color of this season,
as the more stark landscape of winter will be upon us soon!
I will enjoy!