"God made my life a little light,
Within this world to glow,
A little flame that burneth bright,
Wherever I may go."
A few days before Martinmas we met with our homeschool co-op to make beautiful glass lanterns decorated with leaves and tissue paper.
The Story of the Lanterns
(adapted from the Martinmas Puppet Story at songandseason.com)
Once upon a time, there lived a young girl named Audrey and a young boy named Ethan. They loved more than anything, being outside all through the summer...running after butterflies, singing like birds, jumping like grasshoppers, and trying to catch the sunlight.
Summer grew into autumn and the leaves on the trees turned red, orange, golden, and brown. The cool breezes blew and the leaves drifted to the ground.
One day as Audrey and Ethan were laying on their backs in the meadow and looking up at the sun-filled sky they said, "Oh Mr. Sun, soon the autumn winds will blow and the cold will come and freeze the land. The nights will be so long and so cold."
The sun pushed the clouds aside and replied, "Yes, very soon it will be dark and cold; for the winter is coming. In the cold and dark winter our warmth and light must come from within us. You must tend the light within."
"But," said the two children, "How will we tend the light within when it is dark everywhere around us?"
"I will give you a spark of my last autumn rays once you have made a little house for it, for it must be guarded well, so that your light may shine for others to see even in the darkness and cold of winter." The sun once again hid behind a cloud.
Audrey and Ethan ran home and wondered how best they could make a little house for the spark of the sun. So, they each took a little glass jar and gently covered them with fallen leaves. They each took a candle and put it in the middle of their lanterns. As it was growing dark they put on their coats, scarves, and hats and went outside with the lanterns.
The children returned to the meadow. They held out their lanterns in front of them and said, "Oh Mr. Sun, we have little homes for one of your golden sparks. Please may we have one? We will guard it well."
The sun looked out from behind the cloud and said, "You have made beautiful homes. I shall give you each one of my golden sparks."
(Pause to light the candles in the lanterns, gently ringing a tiny bell as it lights.)
And suddenly, Audrey and Ethan saw how their lanterns lit up, and as they looked at them they saw a spark happily dancing on top of the candle. Oh how happy the little light was in the lovely lanterns! It shone so brightly. "Thank you, oh thank you, Mr. Sun" the children called out. And they took their lanterns home, lighting up the path in the darkness and singing.
"This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine,
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine,
This little light of mine, I'm gonna let it shine,
Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine."
"In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they will see your good deeds and praise your father in Heaven." Matthew 5:16