Celebration of the Winter Season, this festival is said to have originated with Bavarian farmers and was introduced by a German nurse, a student of Rudolf Steiner working in the original Swiss curative home at Sonnenhof, in 1925-28. The simple form of the spiral, the beauty of the garden, and the group singing, all work together to enliven the spirit of the season: reverence and love.
In a darkened room, all will enter in silence. A pine bough spiral will grace the floor and candles will glimmer. Songs of the season will be sung and the teacher will tell a special story. Each child will walk the spiral alone in the darkness, carrying an unlit candle placed in an apple holder. Gentle music will play as the child progresses toward a young girl who will sit in the center of the spiral with a glowing candle. The child’s candle will be lit when he/she reaches the center. Then the return journey begins. The child will leave his/her lit candle on the spiral and then return to his/her seat. As each child walks the spiral, the room grows brighter and the beauty of the group effort is seen. This deeply moving festival symbolizes the journey we all make as we approach the darkest night of the year, and also speaks to us of our over-all journey here on earth. The outward journey symbolizes what happens once our little light is kindled and we move out into the world on the path of our lives, making our own choices.