Discovering Waldorf - "Michaelmas Festival"

This weeks Discovering Waldorf is about the Michaelmas Festival and is brought to us by Melisa from A Little Flower Garden... welcome, Melissa.

: : : 

Michaelmas Festival

"Through celebrations in their seasons are the deeper powers of human nature realized."

Rudolf Steiner

The winds are changing for those who live north of the equator and for many Waldorf households that means it is time to begin preparing for Michaelmas.  So what exactly is this festival all about? And just how did it get mingled with St. George and the dragon?  Does the dragon have to die?  So many questions… you’ll likely get a mixed bag of answers and since that is the case, I encourage you to mix it up and come up with traditions that are pleasing to your family.

Saint Michael is the archangel responsible for hurling Lucifer from Heaven.  It is said that Lucifer landed in a blackberry bush and cursed it, therefore it is tradition not to pick blackberries after the feast day (festival) – the feast day was not always held on September 29^th, in older days it was held October 10^th or 11^th.  It is now associated by many with the autumn equinox, which falls the week prior.  This equinox marks the beginning of darker days.  Since Michael is a herald of light, he is thought of as a protector during this time.  It is also a time to reflect on darkness that we, as adults, may want to banish from our lives.  Perhaps there is a habit you are trying to overcome or a tie with someone you are wishing to cut in order to feel lighter, less burdened – this would be a great path of inner work during the Michaelmas season.  It is also appropriate to help older children (grade six and up) that may be struggling to let go of things by encouraging them to look introspectively at the light of Michael.

Now how did Michael and George get intertwined? Well theories say that Saint George was an earthly representative of Michael in his deeds.  It is said that George slew many dragons during his time.  The legend of George and the reality of George are a bit different.  When George was about 14, he lost his father, having been raised by Christian parents, he wanted to do good and brought himself before the Emperor Diocletian (300 A.D.)  to become a soldier like his father was.  The Emperor was impressed, gave George a place in his army and by his twenties George had risen in ranks.   In 302 A.D. Diocletian declared that all Christians were to be sacrificed to Pagan gods, not realizing that his best soldier was among them.  George openly defied Diocletian, giving him no other choice than to put him to death.  Before death, George gave all of his wealth to the poor.  He was quickly made a martyr and many other Christians offered their lives as well.  How does that find him fighting dragons?  Well the dragon legends came back from the Crusades at a time when the Christian church was spreading across

Europe
and the dragon was seen as resistance to this quest.  George was heralded as a crusader and the story often goes that he saved a maiden from the clutches of a dragon by slaying it.  There are many versions to this story, including these:

Saint George and the Dragon by Margaret Hodges and Trina Schart Hyman

Saint George and the Dragon by Geraldine McCaughrean and Nicki Palin

We also have a version more suited for younger ears in our book Before the Journey.

Now this brings me to the controversy in some Waldorf circles about whether or not the dragon should die.  Some folks feel like the dragon should live when telling the story to younger children, redeeming it in some way to be the oven for the town’s bakers to make bread.  Other people feel like the dragon should be unredeemable and should not be given a chance to become humble.  In our home, we have come in on both sides.  When our children are young, I tell them a version of the story that redeems the dragon, after age nine though, the dragon tastes death.  Why nine?  Well we have found that around the nine year change is a perfect time for them to really be able to grip the realities of darkness and death.  That is OUR tradition though, I encourage you to test things out for your own family and decide what works for you.

Activities during this time… there is the traditional dragon bread. We have baked the bread both sweet and savory, using sweet raisins for eyes and frosting scales or green herbs for scales and sunflower seed toes – both are wonderful.  We also do crafts that celebrate the harvest such as making corn husk dolls, making autumn gnomes for the nature table, needle felting pumpkins and the like.  We dance and sing and paint pictures of George and the dragon.   My older children LOVE to put together a short impromptu play each year depicting George and the dragon – of course the have to take turns being George!

Whatever your traditions become, enjoy yourself!  Don’t get hung up on what you have to do or what the local Waldorf school might be doing, work on what feels right for you and your family.

For those wishing to dig deeper, try this link: http://www.chiron-communications.com/michaelmas.html

Many blessings.

Melissa

 : : : 

Thank you, Melissa, beautifully explained! Yumm, dragon bread :-)

Melisa's site, A Little Garden Flower, is a treasure trove of Waldorf resources.

Please visit the Discovering Waldorf Page for more information on the series and to read the other guest articles.

Blessings and magic, 

Donni