Ariel, my daughter, goes to the East Bay Waldorf School, and a few weeks ago we were asked at the last minute to create a crown for her that would hold eleven candles. So my wife Linda spend a good two hours on Thursday night cutting up coat hangers and putting something together with needle-nose pliers and a glue gun.
Ariel was going to be Santa Lucia, the saint of light in the darkness of winter. Waldorf celebrates holidays from many traditions, including those of Europe. In European villages a girl is chosen to represent Santa Lucia, and she is dressed in robes and a crown of candles.
Ariel came home saying there was a photographer there flashing picture after picture in her face, and she said she would be in the paper. Sure enough, the following Saturday, there she was. And it wasn't just a little picture below the fold, but it was a huge picture filling the whole top fold of the Home section, as well as a thumbnail on the front page. The phone was ringing off the hook that morning with friends asking us if we'd seen the paper. You can read the whole story here at SFGate.
Doesn't she look beautiful - beatific is more like it. She is an amazing little girl (well, not so little any more). And yes, that is a towel on her head. Even a goddess of light needs to protect her hair from the wax...
1 comment:
Sweet :-). I have a little daughter, too. She's 21 months old - still too little to do anything like that.
I think the tradition of Santa Lucia is a Swedish one. In Germany we have many different traditions depending on where you live, e.g. North or South Germany.
As a child, where I grew up I only knew the 'Christkind' (the infant Jesus Christ) who delivers the christmas gifts. Alas, today it's replaced more and more by Santa Claus ('Weihnachtsmann').
I like your blog, keep on blogging :-).
Merry Christmas and a happy new year from Dortmund, Germany!
Jens
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