Waldorf in the Home

Of all of the festivals of the year, Christmas is the most inward. The essence of
Christmas is reverence and devotion, devotion to the light that shines in
darkness, reverence for the celebration of the Being of Love and for all the
multitude of meanings that lie enfolded within Christmas. Find ways to embody
those, to bring them into special family moments.

As preparation, have some verses and meditations that are just for you. Write one out and put it on the wall beside your bed. Read it before you go to bed. Keep a small picture in the kitchen that reminds you of the reverence you are striving for. I put mine beside the stove where I could glance at it as I waited for something to heat up. One moment of reverence and you can feel your heart activated.

Christmas is rich in symbols, rich in songs and poetry. A simple way to begin the
sense of reverence in an outer way is to create a very brief, but dramatic
moment for even the youngest child. It is never too early to begin. Here is the
simple little ritual that we used on Christmas Eve for the younger children. The
song transformed as they grew older into new places in our ritual year by
year. [Music can be found in Clump-a-Dump and Snickle-Snack by Johanna Russ, available from www.steinerpress.com].
A sound rings forth at deep midnight,
like gentle laughter fine and light,
like gold bells ringing all their worth,
like falling stars upon the earth.
For the very young children I began simply. On a covered stool which was at
their eye level, with all the lights out, I lit a candle . Then said "The night was
dark (pause), the night was cold (pause); silence lay everywhere (pause), and all the world was waiting (pause), waiting (pause), waiting. And then at deep
midnight (pause), a sound." Then I sang the song. They were entranced. That
was enough for them. Our reverent moment was over and I blew out the candle.
Anything that goes on too long will destroy the reverence.

When they were quite young they then went to bed. That had been their Christmas Eve magic. When they were old enough to stay up, later on Christmas Eve we had our large and elaborate candle lighting ceremony for the rest of the family. That ceremony also had a mood of reverence, but it was not a sitting-still reverence. In the dark, fire-lit living room I spoke the magical verses -- from great literature and ancient sources -- as the children took the light from the Christ Candle and lit the "world," a collection of different shapes of candles representing the people of the world.

I was speaking as they were moving, so no one got bored or restless. I used many of the poems and verses every year so that they became dear and familiar to us all. Many other rituals and activities surrounded this central event, of course, but you might want to do just a few things the first year and then build up.

Here are some of the verses that I used for the Christmas Eve candle lighting
ceremony at our house. Choose your favorites and print them out so that you
can read them by the fire or with a flashlight. It is good each year to start with
the same verse.

At darkest midnight
The earth shall be light
And shall gleam like a star.
--unknown

Simple verses for children under 9 years old:

The gift of the light
We thankfully take,
But nothing may be
Just alone for our sake.
The more we give light
The one to the other
It shines and spreads life
Growing still further;
Till every spark is set aflame.
Till every heart Joy shall proclaim
--M. Tittman (from the German)

Seven angels at the door of heaven,
Light and bright.
Seven angels at the door of heaven,
Holding a light.
Open your heart to the light so bright,
Open your heart to the angels in white.
--I. Tupaj

Hush, hush, this Holy Night
Angels have brought the Child of Light;
All humankind shall gently bear him,
All the beasts shall nestle near him,
All the flowers shall adore him,
All the stones shall kneel before him,
All the world shall honor him,
All, all, even Cherubim and Seraphim
--Herbert Hahn (from the German)

Joseph found a chip and carved
A little spoon
Which then like crystal diamond
And ivory shone.
And Mary rocked her little son
And everything he looked upon
Was filled with light.
--last verse of a song, adapted from the German

Oh little Lord we bring to thee
Red rubies from the holly tree
With cloudy pearls of mistletoe
And diamonds of ice and snow
--Molly von Heider

Lo there dawns The Blessed Hour
Heaven's own Child now comes to birth.
Song resounds and through its power
Breath of Life awakes on Earth.
--Novalis

Longer, more complicated verses for the whole family:

In the beginning was the Word
And the Word was with God`
And the Word was God.
In him was life
And the life was the light of men.
The light shone in darkness
But the darkness comprehended it not.
That was the true light which lights every person
who comes into the world.
He was in the world
And the world was made by him
But the world knew him not.
He came to his own
But his own received him not
But as many as received him
to them he gave the power
to become the children of God.
And the Word was made flesh
And lived among us.
And we beheld his glory,
Full of grace and truth.
--John 1:1-14

The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light;
on those who lived in a land dark as death a light has dawned.
You have increased their joy and given them gladness.
They rejoice in your presence as those who rejoice at harvest.
--Isaiah 9:2-3

That glorious form that light unsufferable,
And that far-beaming blaze of majesty,
Wherewith he wont at Heaven's high council-table
To sit the midst of Trinal Unity,
He laid aside; and here with us to be,
Forsook the courts of everlasting day,
And chose with us a darksome house of mortal clay.
--John Milton: ODE ON THE MORNING OF CHRIST'S NATIVITY

At time's turning point
The World's Spirit-Light
Entered the stream
Of Earthly Evolution;
Darkness of night
Had held its sway
Day-radiant Light
Poured into human souls.
Light,
That gave warmth
To simple shepherd's hearts;
Light,
That enlightened
The wise heads of kings.

O Light Divine,
O Sun of Christ,
Warm thou our hearts,
Enlighten thou our heads
That good may become
From what our hearts
We would found,
What from our heads
We would purposefully direct.
--Rudolf Steiner

Once more the Holy Child is born
Once more the shining hour arrives;
A paean of praise in all our hearts,
The light of love upon our lives.
And that is why within my heart
I hear this secret happy sound
And know as though an angel spoke
The whole vast earth is holy ground.
--R.H. Grenville

You do not do any explaining. You just celebrate your festival with intensity of feeling. However, you might want to show some delight in the songs and verses as you sing them or say them in the kitchen at odd moments as you work (and it makes them more familiar if you are just at the beginning of establishing family festivals) For example, you could say 'Like falling stars upon the earth' Isn't that beautiful! I didn't explain anything until my children were teenagers, and even then not much. What you do is art, it needs to be experienced, felt, like an image or a dream.
--from Esther Lesher