A Tradition of Light and Song

On November 11, German families come together to celebrate the life of Saint Martin. To prepare, children craft and colour beautiful paper lanterns, which they proudly light on this special day.

At Saint Martin's Day parades throughout Germany, children light their lanterns and sing about the good deeds of Saint Martin. He is most remembered for splitting his riding cloak in half and giving one half to a beggar he met on the street.

The children sing that he was a good man and that their lanterns shine in the night. After the parade, people gather to share special Martin’s pretzels and light a bonfire. Sometimes you can even see Saint Martin on his horse.

This year our ISN community participated in the parade organized by St. Nikolaus Kindergarten. On November 12, after a church event, we paraded through the streets with our lanterns, sang the traditional songs, and then enjoyed Martin's pretzels and fruit punch.