At Three Rivers Waldorf School, we are beginning our preparation for our Winter Garden. The Winter Garden is a celebration of the turning of the seasons and our ability as humans to meet nature’s darkness with our inner light. As we approach the Winter Solstice, darkness overtakes the light of the sun. With the warmth of the sun no longer sustaining us, we must find the light within ourselves.

So, we celebrate our Winter Garden with a spiral of evergreen and a tall singular candle in the center. The children move through the spiral of pine boughs; inward to receive the light from the candle, and outward to bring light toward the darkness with a lit candle.

The reverence of this particular festival provides all of us an appropriate beginning to this holiday season. The silent simplicity of walking the spiral inwardly towards the light and then returning to bring that individual light out into the winter garden is a unique experience for young children and for all of us as parents, faculty, and staff.