As the seasons turn, the rhythm of the year unfolds at Susquehanna Waldorf School in a cycle of celebration, reflection, and gratitude. Each festival—whether Michaelmas Festival of Courage, Martinmas, or May Day—carries a story, an image, and a gesture that meets the child where they are developmentally. Through song, story, and shared experience, these festivals become more than mere events; they are living lessons that awaken courage, reverence, and a deep sense of belonging.
Michaelmas Festival of Courage: Meeting the Dragon
In the golden light of early autumn, the festival of Michaelmas calls us to awaken our inner strength and face the “dragons” within and around us. Waldorf schools celebrate Michaelmas as a festival of courage and renewal, inspired by the story of Archangel Michael, recognized across many world religions and cultures as a symbol of light overcoming darkness. This image reminds us that bravery is not the absence of fear, but the willingness to act with goodness and resolve even when faced with challenge.
For the youngest children, the spirit of Michaelmas lives in the simple rhythm of their days, gathering the harvest, kneading and baking bread, singing songs that carry warmth into the turning year. For older students, the stories and reflections deepen into questions of moral courage: How can I meet the challenges before me with compassion and strength? The entire community, students, teachers, and parents alike, comes together in this shared gesture of courage, carrying the light of the season into the darker months ahead.
Festival Life as Community Life
At SWS, festivals are the heartbeat of our school year, weaving together the threads of school and home life. The preparations themselves become acts of community and devotion: teachers craft stories and songs; students rehearse plays, dances, or processions; and parents lend their care and creativity to support each celebration.
In a world that often moves too quickly, these moments invite us to pause, to breathe, and to come together for a shared purpose. Festivals help children experience that they are part of something greater than themselves: a living, loving community that honors both the turning of the natural world and the seasons of the human heart.
Light in the Darkness
As autumn deepens and daylight wanes, festivals such as Martinmas and the Spiral of Light offer quiet beauty and inner warmth. The flicker of candlelight becomes a symbol of the light that endures within each of us, even through darkness and stillness. In these moments, reverence is not an idea but an experience, felt in the glow of a child’s face, the sound of voices raised in song, and the hush that falls when a single flame is carried through the dark.
Why We Celebrate
In Waldorf education, festivals are not performances or calendar markers; they are living expressions of the human journey. They honor the cycles of nature and the spiritual unfolding of the child, teaching through experience that joy, courage, and gratitude are part of life’s rhythm. Through celebration, we affirm again and again that courage can be practiced, kindness can be cultivated, and community is something we create together through intention and love.
As we gather for our autumnal festivals this year, may we each find courage in the turning of the seasons, gratitude in the work of our hands, and light in one another. These are the gifts our children carry with them, the enduring magic of Waldorf education.