Why do we celebrate festivals in the Lantern Community?
At the heart of Camphill Community life, is the celebration of festivals throughout the year. Celebration is a fundamental element of our community. We celebrate each other as well as the community and the world around us through social events and festivals. We value the importance of supporting a spiritual environment that fosters the values upon which the community was built
Care for the earth, care for each other, and respect for the spirit in each human being. Although each of our communities has its own character, what they have in common is the importance given to celebrating festivals together. The four main festivals celebrated are Christmas, Easter, St. Johns and Michaelmas, these are closely connected with the four seasons. Although it is the Christian festivals which provide the focus for many of our traditional celebrations, it is important we also respond to the diverse religious, spiritual and cultural backgrounds of people with whom we are living and working.
A community is a living social organism and its festivals are an expression of its heartbeat, they provide a regular rhythm for community life. Creative and artistic threads are continually woven into daily life that reflect the time of the year and nature around us. The festivals are a pause in the flow of everyone’s life, where through creating and celebrating the festivals together, people can reconnect with each other and with the deeper significance of their life, whatever their religious belief. Each festival has a special mood or focus, and what is important and can inspire us is to create a mood of both wonder at what is seen and experienced, and reverence for the moments that are created at these special festival times. Creating moments that can nourish the soul.
The value of regular routine and structure is a basis for much of our working practice in the Lantern Community. Its purpose is to provide a degree of security and predictability within which people can gain confidence, can develop skills and can establish some sense of order and control within their daily lives. Particularly for those who have a limited awareness of time, the presence of a constant and reliable rhythm can be a source of orientation. Many Companions can place themselves in the year by the festival we are celebrating. In celebrating the seasons and festivals of the year, we can see how these traditions are enriching to people’s lives, whilst also being mindful that alongside tradition, it is important we find ways to celebrate which are valued and meaningful in a contemporary context.
“Tradition is to nurture the flame, not to worship the ashes “ - Mahler
Following the Seasonal calendar, allows for an integration of events, gatherings and celebrations of other cultures from around the globe.
