Our school recently celebrated Martinmas. As darkness fell, we gathered in the cozy classroom and were told the story of Martin, a young Roman conscript who gave half of his warm cloak to a beggar on the side of the road. Later that night Martin had a dream (vision?), an angel was wearing half of Martin’s cloak, and it told Martin that it had been the beggar on the road – Martin went on to convert to Christianity, but that part was left out of the story. The focus was on Martin’s kind heart, and willingness to share what he had with someone less fortunate than himself.
There was a mood of reverence as we walked from the classroom with our lanterns. In the dark, with only the quiet singing of the children, I contemplated the story. Martin did not give the beggar his entire cloak, he gave him half of it, this was not a story of total self-sacrifice, but of sharing what he could. Would Martin be cold with only half a cloak? Certainly, but the beggar would be warmer with half than if he had none at all.
The Martinmas Festival marks the middle point between Michaelmas and Christmas, the light of Martinmas fortifies the soul for the dark winter. I’m not feeling a lot of light right now, the darkness feels pretty overwhelming.
I have been struggling this past week with the election results. I feel both compelled to speak out, and compelled to withdraw and protect my family. I have been saddened by the news of attacks on people based on who they may or may not have voted for, their gender, the color of their skin, or their religious views.
As a former Christian Scientist, it would be easy to revert back to my old ways, to “only see the good” and to “know all is harmonious.” That is not how things work. The question, could I be doing more haunts me. I know the answer is yes, but I’m not sure what “doing more” looks like right now.
More on St. Martin & the Martinmas Festival
- Martin of Tours (wikipedia)
- St. Martin’s Day (wikipedia)
- Saint Martin (Waldorf Festivals)
- Catholic Saints – St. Martin
Image via https://www.pinterest.com/taoofcraft/waldorf-lanterns-martinmas/
kind-ism 
The reason Trump won was his unusual admixture of good & bad human qualities. Trump managed to voice the Trickster with paranormal prescience. See my Blog on Donald Trump’s traits which Coast to Coast AM last Saturday night recommended to its listeners. Trump is the first of the Blogs here: http://www.spindriftresearch.org/blog.php
Interesting perspective. I don’t think the “paranormal” has anything to do with it, but I agree with the “trickster” assessment.
I love this. Thank you for sharing. Sifting through similar feelings since the election. By the way, you are a really fantastic writer.
Thanks Jenny.