celebrating Candlemas

We gathered today with many of our friends, and some new faces as well, for our community Candlemas celebration. The little ones had one table for dipping candles.

And the older children had a separate table for dipping their candles. I was struck with how proficient these older children have become in the 2 years we've been forming this community and these traditions.


Many new members have joined our group and we see new faces each time we gather. We welcome them and hope they find the camaraderie in our group that first drew us together to form these simple celebrations of the season.




After everyone had a chance to make a candle, or two, a few of the smaller children began shaking small jars of cream to make butter for our snack-time bread.


Several of the adults and older children attended a lesson on making a St. Brigid's cross out of palm leaves.



When the older children finished their St. Brigid's crosses, I watched a few of them teaching the younger children how to make one as well. The very definition of community, don't you think?


We were fortunate this year to have a local beekeeper give us a demonstration of beekeeping and how the beekeepers collect honey and beeswax for us to enjoy.


How delightful to start making those connections between the bees and their caretakers and the wax in which we dipped our strings to make candles.


The children seemed to greatly enjoy the beekeepers attendance. They were so engaged and had many questions!


And although the picture below is not the best quality, nor does it depict a particular activity of our afternoon, I love this shot of a big brother and his baby sister. I feel incredibly grateful to have this wonderful community of loving adults and children and to be surrounded with their kindness and gratitude. I hope we have many more years of festivals together!