Santa Lucia is also a festival about finding light at the darkest time of year. Santa Lucia invites students to sing their way through the school, dressed in traditional costumes. With roots in early Christianity, this festival recalls how an early saint wore a wreath of lit candles to illuminate her path as she brought food to those who were hungry. Celebrated near the winter solstice, Santa Lucia signifies the ability to find light in darkness. It is a popular holiday in Sweden and Italy.

This festival is a way we acknowledge the darkest days of the year to help us kindle our own inner light.

We start with a darkened room and each child in our kindergarten and first grade carries an unlit candle into the center of the spiral where they light it with a larger center candle. Then they gently place it along the spiral, illuminating the entire room. It's a magical festival and one the children remember for years to come.

Martin of Tours was a Roman soldier in 4th century Gaul. It is told that while passing through the city gates at Amiens, he found a poor beggar shivering with cold. Martin shared his own cloak by tearing it in half and giving the poor man some warmth. St. Martin has since become the representative of brotherly kindness, sharing light and warmth with all those in need. November 11th, his day of burial, has long been remembered as Martinmas.

The story of St. Martin has inspired the tradition of a lantern walk, the sharing of lantern songs and warmth with friends. The younger students make lanterns in their classrooms and join their families in an evening lantern walk.