“St John, St John, the Messenger of Light,
Who kindled the fire in the dark winter’s night.
That light may come to Earth.
You and I, I and You
We will kindle our light too.
For we all live together on the Earth
Our mother, our dear Mother Earth”
The festival of St. John takes place in the heart of winter in the Southern Hemisphere, while the earth appears to be in a deep slumber. Many trees have now lost their leaves and are standing bare, as if dead. The school remains covered in a blanket of red, gold, and brown as Nature lies in rest – although, underground, the fire of activity within the earth is unwavering and seeds lie in wait for the first glimpse of Spring. Being exposed to the biting cold, this is a time where we as humans can reflect and cultivate our own inner warmth and light in order to grow and follow our life path.
At Michael Mount, the St. John’s Festival marks the end of the Winter term, and is usually celebrated around 24 June, in recognition of John the Baptist’s Feast Day. John (known as Yahya in the Quran) is revered as a prophet across Christianity, Islam, the Baha’l Faith, and Mandaeism. Traditionally, he calls upon mankind to look inward and seek the innate light within ourselves.
Despite this being a festival of Christian origin, the symbols and activities that the children experience during the St. John’s celebrations resonate across denominations and embrace the universal message that the festival carries. Over the years, the children develop a sense of anticipation, wonder, and joy for the celebration of life and Nature. Our younger children learn about Jack Frost, King Winter, Mother Earth, and the gnomes who pop up around this time, and all our students make lanterns (or torches and poi in the High School) which become a symbol of Light. In the same way that a lantern protects a flickering flame, we too must take care to safeguard and nurture our inner light so that we may also shine brightly.
Customarily, great bonfires are built, and fire rituals are performed. This is a wonderful time for the community to gather and share piping hot bowls of homemade soup and fresh bread. When the flames begin to die down, everyone takes their turn to jump over the embers, leaving the burdens of the past behind and looking toward the future. This profound, joyous festival provides us with the opportunity to renew our sense of hope and reignite our inner strength and light in the face of darkness and turmoil.
Lying in the meadow grass,
And gazing at the Autumn sky,
“Dear Father Sun” said George out loud,
“It will be winter, by and by”
“The nights will be long, dark and cold,
Jack Frost will freeze the ground.
How shall I find the light,
With so much darkness all around?”
Said Father Sun “I’ll give you from my
Last Autumn rays – a spark,
If you will make a little house
To hold it in the dark”
With paper, paint, some windows,
And a candle it was done!
George came out and held his lantern
Up to Father Sun.
Suddenly the windows lit,
The spark was dancing bright,
Carefully, George carried home
His lantern in the twilight.