Autumn Equinox and Michaelmas - a Guide for Celebration!

 

Mommy dressed as Sir George for story telling.

I wanted to post this a week and a half early so you can mull over whether or not you would like to join us in our week long celebration! It's super simple and lots of fun! Join us, wont you?

A chilly wind makes my toes curl, my heart skips a beat at an amber colored leaf - in short, I’m an Autumn addict. Every year I try and find new and improved ways to celebrate this time of year. Last year we had so much fun with this plan!

Autumn Equinox falls the week prior to the Waldorf celebration of Michaelmas. These two holidays are often celebrated in similar fashions, with harvest feasts and various fall merriment.

Michaelmas adds the exciting adventures of Sir George slaying the dragon through the spirit/guidance/help of the angel Michael. Michaelmas is a fun way to look toward our inner selves for bravery and guidance as the days grow shorter and winter descends.

This is our second year holding a week long Fall Equinox and Michaelmas bash! The first ingredient in the fun is the story. Told in eight parts the story brings to life the changing of the seasons and weaves these changes into an empowering narrative of one boy’s defeat of a mighty dragon.

To join our celebration simply read the eight parts of the story guide and then expand the story line as long or short as you like. Add places, names, descriptions and details. Be sure to tell the story to your children without reading it from a page, look at them, really engage them.

I dress up as Sir George with a knitted knight hat and red silk cape when I tell the tale. Be sure and tell the story early on in the day so you have time for the craft or activity I have suggested to accompany the narrative.

If you’re artistic use paper and crayons, paint, chalk or whatever to create a picture to go along with each day’s story. Encourage your children to create impromptu artwork about the story as well.

 

Ronan on a dragon hunt.

I’ve also created a list of things you will need for your week long celebration, don’t worry, it’s all very simple!

Supplies for the Week:

Local vegetables (to bake or steam)
Local, grass fed meat
Candles and candle holders
Leaves (don’t worry if they haven’t turned yet, that’s OK)
Paper and crayon for leaf rubbings
Clay Ingredients - Baking soda, corn starch
Silks, scarves or blankets for a cape
Cardboard, scissors, tape
Cookie ingredients - 2 cups almond butter,  2 eggs, 1 TB vanilla extract, three tablespoons of sweetener like raw sugar or stevia

 

Nykki by the glow of candle light during story time.

Friday, September 23rd, Autumn Equinox

Story guide: All the people in the land (Mother Nature’s Realm, Avalon, Zion, God's Kingdom, or ?) are harvesting their crops and hold a big feast.

Activity: Simple Harvest Dinner using your local veggies and grass fed meats. Talk about where the food came from.


Saturday

Story Guide: Father Sun says he’s tired of shinning all day when the people no longer need him to grow their food. He asks the Angels to make the days shorter.

Activity: Set out candles in your home in anticipation of Father Sun’s long naps or carve gourd lanterns.


Sunday

Story Guide: Sister Wind grows chilly without the sun around all day. She blows and blows and makes the leaves cold. The cold leaves try to warm up by turning the color of fire.

Activity: Leaf rubbings


Monday

Story Guide: But it does no good, they are still cold so slowly they drop one by one to the ground. Some fall upon a huge mound of earth and they become the scales on the back of a mighty dragon.

Activity: Rake up some leaves into a pile, pretend it’s a dragon. Give him a scary name. If you don’t have leaves work with what you have; straw, a mound of dirt, a tree stump or a pile of laundry. To get even more creative make a head or tail.


Tuesday

Story Guide: The dragon frightens Mother Night and she is too scared to let the moon come out. The people know that without the fall moon there will be no winter and without a long winter nap the animals and seeds will not have energy to grow next spring. So the people ask their angels to help them.

Activity: Make clay angels using this recipe. Bake them with ribbon inside and a loop at the top. Hang your angels on the trees outside to protect you from the dragon (or inside if your dragon is a pile of laundry).


Wednesday

Story Guide: The Angels agree that something must be done. They send a magic cape and sword to a young boy named George and knight him, Sir George, the brave knight of Mother Nature. He is afraid but he accepts the challenge to fight the dragon.

Activity: Make a cardboard sword



Thursday

Story Guide: George chases the dragon all around the earth, up into heaven and back. George prays and asks for strength.

Activity: Make a cape. You can get fancy and use silks that you dye naturally or simply use a cut up sheet, blanket or scarf.

Friday

Story Guide: God sends Michael and Michael tells George about the war in heaven and how he cast out Lucifer. George gains new strength to slay the mighty dragon. All the people are happy and bake good things to eat and give them to the brave George.

*Don’t be tempted to think this tale as too violent for young ones. Children view the world and death differently than we do as adults. The simple triumph of slaying the dragon will not translate into violent animal murdering adults, I promise. Fairy tales speak to the soul and part of that magic is the death of the evil in the story. This empowers children to believe they can conquer their own woes, putting them to “death.”

Activity: Dress the family up and act out the whole story, bake almond butter cookies (see recipe below), shape them into dragons, leaves, trees, etc.

Hint: If you’re Christian you may want to read Revelations Chapter 12 at some point in the week.

Happy Autumn Equinox and Michaelmas!

Almond Butter Cookies

2 cups of almond butter

1 tsp vanilla

dash of salt

3 tablespoons of sugar or stevia

2 eggs

Blend everything together in a bowl, drop onto ungreased cookie sheet, shape as desired, cook at 375 degrees for 10-12 minutes.