Yesterday evening, Thursday 9th of November 2023, we hosted our annual St. Martin‘s celebrations which is one of the highlights of the school year for the children in Kindergarten and Primary School up to 2nd Class. The children were busy rehearsing days before the event and were looking forward to it with great excitement.
It was a sea of colourful lights as the children took their lanterns for a night-time procession around the school premises while singing traditional Sankt Martin’s songs: ‘Laterne, Laterne, Sonne, Mond und Sterne …’, Ich geh mit meiner Laterne…’.
After a short lantern procession, all children and parents gathered in the Secondary School courtyard to watch a great re-enactment of Sankt Martin’s story performed by 2nd Class Drama group and to sing Sankt Martin’s song led by our amazing School Choir under the tutelage of Ms Thielemans before heading back to their classrooms for some gingerbread treats.
It was a wonderful and enjoyable event thanks to the great efforts by Primary School and Kindergarten teachers, members of the Parents’ Association and, of course, the children and their parents.
Sankt Martin Celebrations have a long tradition in Germany and are celebrated every year around 11th November to remember the Saint for his good deeds. Sankt Martin was a Roman soldier (later converted to Christianity and became a bishop) who once saved the life of a poor man.
Here in St. Kilian’s we enjoy keeping this tradition alive and celebrate our own Sankt Martin with re-enactments of his story, lantern processions, Sankt Martin Songs and of course the traditional treat shaped into a gingerbread man that is shared as symbol of kindness.
