Month: October 2022

Halloween and All Saints’ Day

Halloween and All Saints’ Day

Posted on by Veronica J Kauffman

Halloween origin

The origin of the Halloween celebration goes back to the Celtics more than 3.000 years ago, according to the University of Oxford [National Geographic, Oct 2022]. Celtic towns in Europe used to celebrate their new year, also called Samhain, which today is celebrated from October 31 until November 1.  Samhain marked the Celtic New Year, the end of summer, and the end of the harvest season. It also represented the beginning of winter, which the Celtic pagans associated with death. On this day, the Celts believed the veil between the living and the dead was especially thin. This allowed spirits of the dead to visit the living.

Celebration today

This festival or ritual served the purpose of giving farewell to Lugh, the Sun God, and welcoming the short and cold nights that Autumn would bring.

a person holding a bowl of halloween cookies

Thus, the night before, the eve of Samhain, continued to be celebrated with bonfires, costumes and parades, but it began to be called “All Hallows’ Eve”, which ended up leading to “Halloween”. Halloween traditions differ around the globe, but generally there are the famous Halloween candy, trick or treating, spooky costume and carving pumpkins.

All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day and Day of the Dead

a man with face paint and lighted candles

In some cultures and religions, the days of November 1 and 2 mark the celebration of All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day and Day of the Dead. In the catholic religion All Saints’ day, on November 1st, venerates all the holy men and women who have been canonized by the Church. This celebration is followed by All Souls’ day, on November 2, which commemorates all who have passed within the faith. On the day of the dead, we pay respect to our ancestors and remember their influence. Altars are lifted and decorated with tokens to remind us of their presence.

Halloween at Waldorf Schools

In Waldorf schools, Halloween and Day of the Dead or All Saints’ Day are celebrated with different rituals or events. One special way to remember Halloween, as we did at Guanacaste Waldorf Inspired School, is to dress up with friendly costumes that are conducive to be fun and spark imagination.

Dressing up

As we bring the festival of Halloween to the Early Childhood Classes we try to honor the spirit of its origins as well as honor the children at their stage of development.  This age demands goodness, beauty, security, protection. It is also a time of imagination and living in a stream of constant transformation whereby one minute they are kittens and the next sailors, farmers, princesses or kings; then off to be a mother or a baker and then to build a train and be an engineer—and so it goes. When dressing up, one changes one’s identity for a period of time. Young children striving towards their own identity need to seek the identity of those who are worthy of imitation. To dress up in the costumes of characters who represent harm or media characters that come from somebody else’s imagination are opposite to our intentions in the Early Childhood Classes.

Carving

As pumpkins are grown in colder places, they are not readily available at a tropical place, such as Costa Rica. But carving is a Halloween activity that cannot be missed. It could be a work of art and the children enjoy it. We solve this by carving tropical fruit, creating very unique watermelon, pineapple and papaya jack-o lanterns.

Carved Pumpkins are often placed outside signaling the welcoming of trick or treaters.

Enchanted Forest

The older grades children would dress up as well as the young German volunteers with friendly costumes with a forest theme. The magic surrounded our forest with fairies, gnomes, blacksmith, enchanted wizard, bubble fairy, little red riding hood, and more.. They would  appear in the enchanted forest trail walk that the younger children took with their teachers. The magical characters shared special fruits and treats from the forest such as: “uchuvas”, coconut, strawberries, raisins, and cashews. This event became so popular that we would bring it back to light during our Winter Holiday Market. 

Regardless of the way this special Autumn festival is celebrated, the importance of its significance to the different cultures is embraced and remembered to give respect to the Saints, all souls or to make it an opportunity to say “trick or treat”. 

Magical characters come to life

Songs and Poems

Some of these poems and songs have been collected throughout the different classes and years of celebration. We share with you the most popular ones among the children.

Five Little Pumpkins Nursery Rhyme lyrics

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate, (show 5 fingers)

The first one said, (1 finger)

“Oh, my, it’s getting late.” (hands on cheeks)

The second one said, (2 fingers)

“There are witches in the air.” (point up and look up)

The third one said, (3 fingers)

“But we don’t care.” (wag pointer finger)

The fourth one said, (4 fingers)

“Let’s run and run and run.” (move arms like you’re running)

The fifth one said, (5 fingers)

“I’m ready for some fun.” (punch up w/both fists)

“Whooo!” went the wind,

and out went the light, (clap on “out”)

And the five little pumpkins (5 fingers)

rolled out of sight. (roll arms)

Pumpkin Pumpkin round song

Pumpkin, Pumpkin round and fat (cover eyes with hands)

turn into a jack-o-lantern

just like that (take the hands off and make a funny face)

Pumpkin

A pumpkin is big ( circle hands over head)

A pumpkin is round ( circle hands in front)

A pumpkin has a great big smile ( outline smile on mouth)

But doesn’t make a sound ( Put finger over lips)

Magical Marigold Flowers

Posted on by Amy Kleine

As the seasons change, the plants help to inform us of the cycles of the earth and cosmos, and

they can inform us as to how to create festival life, celebrations around the changes that we see

and feel. The senses take it all in, in very apparent ways, and in more subtle ways.

 

 

Seasonal change

Autumn time here in the Northern region of United States, is a visual display of color as the leaves on

the trees change from green to red, orange, yellow, and brown. It informs us that colder months

are coming and the light is changing with less hours of sunshine. It is time to pick apples, rake

leaves, and bring in the bounty of the growing season. The flowers must not be forgotten in this

process, as we gather the last bouquets of summer to adorn our table, prepare medicine from

petals and roots for winter health, and make colorful dye baths to capture the vibrancy of the

summer sun!

 

Fun Activity

This is a favorite Autumn activity in many Waldorf Kindergartens, to pick marigolds and make a

magical marigold soup. Dipping the prepared wool, silk or cotton items into the “soup”, aka dye

bath, is magical as it comes out of the pot transformed into a golden yellow. Whether it be a

felted ball, a silk cape, a skein of yarn, or a simple piece of cloth, the children, living so much in

the present moment, are jubilant with the end result.

 

 

In other lands, such as Costa Rica, where I taught for several years, marigolds were not as

plentiful, and yet the plants still inform. Turmeric root may be harvested to create the brilliant

golden dye.

 

 

 

Plant wisdom

Get to know the plants and observe what gifts they have to share. Ask for permission from the

plant itself to use it. Give thanks. Children naturally love to play with plants creating potions and

soups. Be mindful as to the properties of the plant, nothing poisonous or toxic to touch or ingest,

and then PLAY! Let the imagination soar as discoveries are made.

 

Day of The Cultures – Oct 12

Posted on by Veronica J Kauffman

October 12, Cultures’ Day, is a the day of heritage and culture embraced in many parts of the world. It is a celebration in many Waldorf schools, especially in American schools. Before sharing how we celebrate this day in schools, it is worth mentioning as part of history how the recognition of this day originated and its name change.

Name Origin

The different countries in America and Europe have renamed the originally celebration of Columbus Day to different names, the first one being “The day of the Race (Dia de la Raza)”. However, throughout the past 100 years, this celebration has adopted many different names. 

The celebration of Columbus Day as the discovery of America was considered inaccurate. The commemoration of this event in history was celebrating the American resistance and the converging of cultures. The message of the discovery of America by a ruthless colonial oppressor or conqueror who enslaved the indigenous people was not pleasing. Several States in the US have toppled Columbus’ statues, including Virginia, Maryland and Massachusetts. Columbus was far from a hero but his discovery was crucial in the merging of Europe and the Americas. Hence, Italians focus on his qualities of ingenuity, resilience and courage, still holding Columbus in high esteem. [Washington Post, Oct 2020] 

Other Names

Irrespective of the opinions about Columbus, the focus on the impact of this discovery in America and the exchange of culture around the world prevails. Several countries and states in the United States first adopted the name to “Dia de la Raza” or Day of Race. Many countries later renamed it since the term “race” may have sounded a bit harsh, offensive, or discriminatory. The new names given to this National Day of October 12th vary around the world. In Spain, the name of the holiday is “El día de la Hispanidad”, or Day of ‘Spanishness’. Its celebration began in 1892 as National Spain Day. [El Mundo, Oct 2022]

In Latin American countries, the names differ. To name a few: in Argentina “The Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity”; in Nicaragua and Venezuela “The Day of Indigenous Resistance”; in Chile “The Day of the Encounter Between Two Worlds”; and in Costa Rica “The Day of the Cultures”. Even though the names are different in several countries, the message is the same. It is a day of celebration of the birth of a new identity and the fusion of Europeans with indigenous people.

What is this celebration?

This celebration of cultures is meaningful and visible in many countries and communities that have diversity of nationalities and backgrounds. Hence the day of culture, as the name in Costa Rica, is very descriptive of a time to share and embrace each other’s origins.

In Waldorf schools, particularly at GWS in Costa Rica, children and teachers brought different cultural items to share. Children will show and tell during class or share with the entire school. These items ranged from a drawing, a map, an outfit, a song, a dance, or a delicious dish from their country. During this week, we would prepare the children singing or reciting poems with a clear message of welcoming and cherishing our community and fellow residents.

As a teacher in the primary grades, I made dishes that originated from Ecuador, Brazil, and Argentina which I enjoyed growing up. For instance, my students made in class Pan de Yuca, a favorite Ecuadorian snack accompanied with yogurt smoothies, and a favorite also in Brazil – “Pão de Queijo”. This is a simple recipe that makes a quick dish in a lesson to practice math and social skills. If you feel like bringing a dish from another country into your class or family recipes, I share here a couple of recipes that are sure to bring smiles to children as well as adults. I hope you have a wonderful time celebrating this week with your family or community. Enjoy!

Yuca Bread, Pan de Yuca or Pão de Queijo: https://waldorfinspired.org/pan-de-yuca-or-pao-de-queijo/

Beef Empanadas/Empanadas de Carne: https://waldorfinspired.org/beef-empanadas/

Beef Empanadas

Posted on by Veronica J Kauffman

Ingredients

For the dough:

  • 3 cups of flour
  • 1 egg yolk
  • ½ cup of butter
  • 1 cup warm milk
  • ½ teaspoon of salt

For the filling:

  • 1.5 pounds ground beef
  • 2 white onions, diced, about 3 cups
  • ½ cup of butter
  • 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
  • 1-2 teaspoons ground chili or chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon fresh or dried oregano
  • 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
  • ½ tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 bunch of diced scallions
  • 2-3 hard-boiled eggs cut into cubes
  • ¼ cup diced green olives
  • Salt and pepper to taste

For assembling empanadas:

  • 1 egg yolk and white separated
Ready to eat. Enjoy!

Instructions:

To make the dough:

  • Preheat oven at 400 F
  • Put the flour and salt in a food processor, mix well.
  • Add the butter, and mix again.
  • Add the egg yolk and milk in small amounts, mix until small balls of dough begin to form.
  • Shape the dough into a ball and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
  • On a floured surface, roll out the dough to a thin layer.
  • Use a round bowl or mold to cut the dough into circles about 4 inches of diameter for the empanadas. Roll them again flat once cut to make them thin.

To make the filling:

  • Heat the butter on a pan with the onions. Cook the onions until translucent.
  • Mix the meet in a bowl with all the spices and ingredients except the olives and eggs.
  • Add the meet and spices to the pan with the onions. Cook throughly and set aside.
  • Let the meet cool before mixing the olives and eggs.
  • Take the circles of dough and put about 1 to 2 spoons of filling on them leaving enough dough to close the empanadas.
  • Close each empanada making small folds creating a border. Use the egg white to seal the border.
  • With a small brush apply egg yolk to the top of the empanadas to create a shine.
  • Place the empanadas on a baking sheet prepared with a parchment paper lining.
  • Bake empanadas for 25-30 minutes.
  • Let them cool on a rack for 10 minutes prior to serving.

Empanadas could be made with any filling of your preference. Another favorite filling is cheese. You may add any soft cheese such as mozzarella or Swiss cheese. Follow the dough recipe and just add a scoop of shredded cheese and fold the empanadas per the instructions. This appetizer, especially the one with beef filling, is very popular in South America and Central America. 

Pan de Yuca or Pão de Queijo

Posted on by Veronica J Kauffman

Ingredients

-2 cups yuca flour or tapioca flour (other names are cassava starch or tapioca starch)
-4 cups grated mozzarella cheese can also use half mozzarella & half other soft cheeses as mexican mix
-1 tsp baking powder
-Pinch of salt
-1 stick of butter 4 oz at room temperature
-2 large eggs
-2-4 tablespoons of water

Instructions

-Pre-heat the oven to 500°F.
-In a food processor or bowl, place the yuca flour, cheese, salt and baking powder. Process well until combined. Add the butter and eggs slowly while food processor is running or mix with a wooden spoon. If the dough is too dry, add slowly the water with a spoon until the consistency is soft but not too wet. Knead the dough with your hands in the bowl or mix well with the spoon.
-Make small balls about 1-1.5 inch width and set them on a baking sheet lined with a parchment paper.
-Bake immediately or store in the fridge until ready to bake. If time allows, chill in the fridge for about 30 minutes before baking.
-Once the oven reaches 500 F, turn on broiler, place the breads on the middle rack and bake until the breads turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Turn and bake for 2 more minutes. You may also pre-heat the oven to 400 F and bake for 5 minutes and then turn on the broiler for 5 more minutes. Depending on the oven, time may vary. Serve warm.