Attend a lantern walk celebration, or use this list of lantern walk traditions, rituals, and celebration ideas to organize a fall lantern walk festival.
A lantern walk is a traditional mid-autumn festival or late fall community celebration typically held at the end of the agricultural year. Participants carry lanterns on a peaceful walk on a moonlit night to bring light into the darkness. The light symbolizes the light we share and reminds us to shine our inner light brightly, sharing our gifts with the world, even in the darkest times. This makes a lantern walk a soothing late-fall activity for kids and adults of all ages as the days get shorter and the nights grow longer in the days leading up to the Winter Solstice.
A lantern walk inspires a connection to the rhythms of nature, community, and the light within at the darkest time of the year. Join a lantern walk festival near you to share light and connection. Alternatively, you can use the traditional lantern crafts, songs, and celebration ideas below to organize a lantern procession with your family or community.
Be the Light in the Darkness on a Fall Lantern Walk
The fall Lantern Walk tradition reminds us that we are the light in the darkness. Every individual carries a unique portion of the spark of life—an inner light that burns brightly within. As we walk out into the night on a lantern walk, we light our luminaries and sing lantern songs to shine our light, share it brightly with others, and carry it in our hearts through the dark days of winter.
Enjoy this light-filled fall activity once, or turn it into a yearly rhythm or ritual that reminds you and your family, school, or community to shine bright as the sun’s light recedes more and more each day. First published on October 28, 2020, this lantern walk activity idea for kids and adults of all ages has been updated to enhance the content. You might also enjoy creating a Stone Advent Spiral.
What is a Lantern Walk?
A fall lantern walk is a traditional autumn celebration that brings light into the darkness as the sun’s light wanes from the world in the days leading up to the Winter Solstice. These community-oriented events are typically held at dusk (sunset) or dawn in the autumn or late fall. An annual lantern walk usually features storytelling, singing, live music, and other seasonal activities, accompanied by refreshments. The soft glow of lanterns and the joyful singing of children and adults in attendance create a magical atmosphere.
Inspired by the Christian and pagan celebration of Martinmas and the story of Saint Martin of Tours, this traditional light procession is prevalent in many parts of the world. These festivals of light appear in various cultural, religious, and community settings. For example, Steiner and Waldorf Schools, homeschoolers, and small nature communities worldwide hold lantern walks as an integral part of their autumn festivals. Celebrate the light, connect with the rhythms of nature, and strengthen community bonds on a lantern walk as the light wanes this fall.
Lantern walks are typically held at private or public charter schools, community centers, parks, on neighborhood streets, along a paved trail, through the forest, or along a peaceful, meandering wooded path. This festival of light is similar to, but distinct from, the traditional Lantern Festival, celebrated on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month in the lunisolar Chinese calendar, which coincides with the full moon. In other words, the celebrated themes of light, hope, and community are similar, but the dates on which they are observed and the cultures from which they originate differ.
What is the purpose of the Lantern Walk?
The lantern walk is a tradition that celebrates hope, kindness, and the light within us. This festival of light usually involves people gathering together to stroll through a park, garden, or another outdoor setting while carrying lanterns or candles to light their way. Participants typically sing songs and walk into the darkness with homemade lanterns. Thus, most people view the lantern procession as an opportunity for mindful reflection, celebration, and joyful connection.
What does a lantern symbolize?
The shining light of a lantern can symbolize many things, such as blessings or “the light” in life. Lanterns represent the light that guides the way, dispels darkness, and shows the path forward. Spiritually, the light of a lantern can also symbolize life’s inner light or the spark of life within that we all share as ONE. In some cultures, such as Chinese, lanterns are believed to ward off evil spirits and bring good fortune and luck. Lanterns symbolize hope and safety for those seeking freedom, and they help people celebrate important events such as weddings, births, memorials, holidays, and other special occasions.
What is the origin of the Lantern Walk?
The Lantern Walk festival is inspired by the Christian and pagan celebration of Martinmas, as well as the story of Saint Martin of Tours, which originated in Europe. In Germany, the Laternenfest (lantern festival) is a popular tradition for children, especially around St. Martin’s Day (November 11), when the autumn harvest is celebrated. This festival continues to be celebrated in Steiner or Waldorf schools today (as this style of education originated in Germany) and has become a part of many other community celebrations worldwide due to Waldorf education’s spread and increasing popularity.
Today, Saint Martin’s Day celebrations and Martinmas festivals are observed in many places around the world. In contemporary times, fall lantern walks are a part of Martinmas festivals, modern community events, autumn celebrations of light, fall fairs, and various homeschool communities worldwide, including those affiliated with Waldorf schools. Over time, the lantern walk tradition has adapted to reflect the values and customs of the communities in which it is held. Although the customs and meanings of these lantern walks might differ slightly across cultures, the central idea of bringing light into the darkness and gathering together to celebrate community remains common.
What is the meaning of the Lantern Procession?
In many cultures, a fall lantern walk is a procession that occurs during autumn harvest festivals. These festivals symbolize the quiet beauty of the approaching winter season and remind us to shine our light brightly and share our joy with others during the darker half of the year. Each lantern festival’s meaning may differ, but the central idea of bringing light into the darkness and gathering together to share joy, practice mindfulness, and celebrate community remains a common theme.
In other words, the general theme of a lantern walk is to create the time and space to slow down and connect with the light within, family, community, and the Earth’s rhythms. These simple community rituals honor the light we share as one and provide an opportunity to cultivate an awareness of its quiet power within. Enrich community bonds and form life-strengthening relationships on a traditional fall lantern walk this year.
What are the lanterns typically made of?
In the past, lanterns were carved out of freshly harvested gourds and illuminated with candles, much like the Halloween jack-o’-lantern. Today, most people make fall lanterns with paper, mason jars, or recycled glass bottles. The lanterns can be made from folded paper, papier-mâché, glass mason jars, and other creative craft and DIY methods. They are typically lit with candles or battery-operated lights. They often include intricate artistic designs, patterns, and embellishments. For example, they can be adorned with seasonal colors and motifs such as leaves, stars, or hearts. Scroll down to look at the list of lantern craft ideas below to learn how to make your own lantern to carry on a fall lantern walk. Alternatively, you can carry flashlights or headlamps to light your way through the darkness.
What is Saint Martin’s Day?
In some European countries, particularly Germany, Saint Martin of Tours, the patron saint of beggars and soldiers, is honored in an annual celebration. This celebration for St. Martin occurs on November 11th, known as Martinmas or Saint Martin’s Day. On this day, St. Martin is celebrated for his acts of warmth and kindness and honored for his role as a patron saint of various causes.
Martinmas is particularly popular in European countries, most notably Germany, and is associated with various traditions and customs, including a lantern parade. On St. Martin’s Day, children participate in lantern processions, known as “Martinszüge” in German. They carry homemade lanterns through the streets and sing songs. This lantern walk symbolizes the importance of community and sharing light and warmth during the winter.
Also known as the feast of St. Martin, Martinmas is one of the four quarter-day festivals celebrated in Scotland. To honor Saint Martin, giant feasts featuring cooked geese and other seasonal foods are traditionally enjoyed on Martinmas, accompanied by huge bonfires. Historically known as Old Halloween (or Old Hallowmas Eve), it shares several similarities with the Celtic festival of Samhain.
Like Samhain, Martinmas marked the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter. It shared the tradition of carving lanterns to walk with and included celebratory bonfires and a huge feast. Many people also consider Martinmas a modern-day precursor to traditional Thanksgiving celebrations, as it is a fall harvest feast that celebrates giving and gratitude.
Light the Way to Winter with a Fall Lantern Walk:
Waldorf lantern walk celebrations usually occur at a Martinmas Festival on (or just before or after) November 11th, between Michaelmas and the Winter Solstice. These and other lantern walks are held in the fall as a part of annual festivals and community celebrations worldwide. Waldorf educators celebrate festivals to help connect children with the cycles of nature and establish rhythms that strengthen their bonds with the natural world.
The Lantern Walk is a fall tradition in Waldorf education that teaches children to celebrate the light within and inspires them to shine it even when things are at their darkest. It also teaches them to share the gifts of their “light” with humanity in meaningful ways. Another similar but separate tradition is walking a light spiral or making a stone spiral in December.
Celebrating The Festival of Martinmas with Children:
Martinmas occurs on November 11, after Michaelmas and before the Winter Solstice. Also known as St. Martin’s Day, the Feast of St. Martin, and Martinstag, the Festival of Martinmas is traditionally associated with the fall harvest. On Martinmas, people remember and honor St. Martin of Tours.
Martinmas is a celebration of hope and kindness, serving as a reminder to bring warmth and light to those in need. As we journey deeper into the darkest time of the year, St. Martin’s Day and the story of St. Martin remind us to kindle the warmth and light within our hearts and share it with the world.
The story of St. Martin is often shared with children as part of the Waldorf Martinmas Festivities. Steiner educators are trained to use storytelling and metaphor in their teachings, and the story of St. Martin’s cloak is a prime example. It is told to children as a reminder to share with those in need, especially on the darkest days.
The Story of St. Martin:
According to legend, St. Martin encountered a poor beggar huddled in an archway, freezing to death. He was shivering cold in the dead of night with barely a thread to clothe him. St. Martin removed his cloak from his shoulders, drew his sword, cut the cape in two, and covered the poor man with half of it as a gesture of kindness.
Later that night, Martin had a dream in which a familiar man appeared wearing the piece of his cape that Martin had given to the poor beggar. Martin recognized the light of the Divine looking back at him, wearing the other half of his cloak. (In different versions of the story, St. Martin meets with an angel or finds his cloak miraculously restored to wholeness when he wakes the following day.)
This experience inspired St. Martin forever. He promised to commit to a life of devotion and service to humanity from that moment forth, regardless of station. Another lovely version of St. Martin’s story is on pages 23-28 of a book titled “The Festival of Stones.”
Share Chapter 7, “A Festival of Lanterns,” and Chapter 8, “Saint Martin’s Light,” with children. Or share another meaningful story with kids as a part of your Martinmas celebration. If the story of St. Martin’s cloak isn’t for you, choose another tale of compassion, warmth, or the miracle of kindness to share with your students, family, or community at your lantern walk celebration.
Waldorf Martinmas Lantern Walk Festival:
Steiner Schools, Waldorf homeschools, and other nature-based communities worldwide host a Martinmas Festival, often accompanied by a fall lantern walk. Teach children that their inner light can continue to shine even as the sun’s light and warmth wane at a fall lantern walk. In the winter, children learn that the light comes not only from the sun but also from within our hearts, homes, and communities.
On a lantern walk, children are encouraged to hold a meditative reverence in their hearts as they venture out into the night with hand-held lanterns shining like brightly lit little stars. They carry glowing handmade lanterns and sing songs to celebrate the divine light that connects us. The Martinmas celebration is shared with children to inspire them to ask deep, probing questions of themselves and to call upon them to live a life of service to humanity and the greater good. Learn more about St. Martin’s Day and Martinmas festivals and celebrations in Steiner or Waldorf education HERE.
Go on a Fall Lantern Walk in 2025:
Many families, schools, and communities honor this festival by organizing lantern walks in the fall. In recent years, lantern walks have gained popularity worldwide at autumn festivals, community events, and family-friendly gatherings. They are often organized so people can come together, enjoy the outdoors, and create a sense of togetherness and wonder.
Search for a lantern walk festival near you or organize one with the ideas included in this post. Plan to meet at a park or in nature, or go on a lantern walk with your family, friends, or community around the block or along the sidewalks of your neighborhood.
First, use the tutorials below to make a lantern for yourself and one for a friend or neighbor. If you can not make a new lantern, use an old one or borrow one from a friend. Then, walk out into the darkness, singing songs and sharing your light. Go on a walk, even if only in the backyard, singing your favorite lantern songs. (Scroll down to see them, and get printable with lantern song lyrics–>HERE.)
Traditions Associated with Fall Lantern Walk Festivals:
Common Lantern Walk traditions can include any of the following Lantern Walk activity ideas:
- Making homemade paper lanterns or mason jar luminaries.
- Telling a fairytale, story, or folktale with values of kindness, finding the light within, or serving the needs of others during the darkest of times, such as in the story of St. Martin of Tours.
- Carrying light-filled lanterns into the darkness at dusk or dawn in mid to late fall.
- Singing traditional lantern songs associated with these autumn light processions or another light-filled melody of joy.
- Following the light, or a person pretending to be St. Martin, through the woods (often on horseback).
- Going door-to-door with lanterns, caroling, or simply singing songs of joy and light as you walk together with others through the darkness.
- Celebrating the completion of the light parade with a bonfire.
Lantern Craft Ideas:
Luminaries for a lantern walk are traditionally made by carving gourds and squash. Modern-day Martinmas lanterns are typically made from paper or jars and are often hung on a stick to facilitate easy carrying for children. Alternatively, you can use premade paper lanterns or mason jars with twinkling fairy lights placed inside and a simple DIY hanger tied to the top to carry it. You can also wear headlamps or use flashlights to light your way in the darkness. For even more fun, make autumn leaf crowns to adorn children’s heads as they head out into the night!
Over the years, my daughter and I have made several lovely luminaries for lantern walks. Waldorf educators help children make gorgeous lanterns in various creative and unique ways. They glow so beautifully on a cold autumn night. The photograph below shows a few of my daughter’s handmade fall lantern walk luminaries.
How to Make Lanterns for a Lantern Walk Festival or Parade:
We learned how to make the lanterns pictured above, thanks to the creativity of my daughter’s Waldorf teachers and the help of a few great books. First, Waldorf educators help children fold their watercolor paintings into lanterns. Next, they show them how to cut shapes and cover them with kite paper to make gorgeous lanterns for Martinmas. Choose one of the step-by-step DIY lantern tutorials from the lantern craft ideas below to create a lantern for your lantern walk celebration:
DIY Mason Jar Lantern Ideas:
Mason jar lanterns look beautiful with fairy lights inside. You don’t even need to decorate them. Simply put a strand of fairy lights into it and turn it on to instantly transform it into a gorgeous luminary full of little sparkling lights. Then, add a mason jar handle to your homemade fairy jar lantern or fashion a hanger with wire, cord, or yarn, and you’re good to go. Or, use the step-by-step lantern craft tutorials below to make several types of beautiful glass mason jar DIY luminaries to carry with you into the darkness on a lantern walk:
- This easy leaf luminary craft tutorial, accompanied by a step-by-step video, shows you how to create gorgeous DIY lanterns using real fall leaves, tissue paper, and a large clear mason jar.
- You can also cut autumn leaves, construction paper, or tissue paper into heart shapes to make the heart leaf lanterns shown in the photograph below.
- Or, make Martinmas lanterns with mason jars and colored tissue paper, complete with a lovely finger-knit handle–> HERE.
- Towards the end of the DIY video, you can see how the lantern looks when lit and hear Sarah sing, “I Go With My Bright Little Lantern.” (A traditional lantern walk song. Scroll down to see (and hear) a few more lantern walk songs.)
Related: Turkey Leaf Lanterns
Simple DIY Folded Paper Lanterns:
The recommended books below provide detailed instructions for creating beautiful, folded paper lanterns with various designs and patterns. The step-by-step instructions are copyright-protected, so they are purposely omitted here. Fortunately, the books with instructions are incredible volumes for your home library. Learn how to make gorgeous Waldorf paper lantern crafts with the step-by-step instructions found within the pages of these beautiful books or your favorite Waldorf teacher:
- A Child’s Seasonal Treasury
- All Year Round
- Earthways
- The Children’s Year
- Festivals, Family, and Food
DIY Balloon Lanterns:
Learn how to make balloon lantern crafts with the following step-by-step tutorials:
- Learn how to make paper mache lanterns with a balloon and colorful tissue paper with the simple instructions HERE or HERE. (The second link has directions for making balloon lanterns in warm colors (white, orange, and yellow) like the one in the photographs my daughter made at a Waldorf school many years ago.
- Try this gorgeous handmade balloon lantern made with toilet paper and natural leaves:
- I recommend using white tissue paper instead of toilet paper to make tissue paper balloon lanterns. Still, the creator of this craft shows in the video tutorial that making tissue paper luminaries with toilet paper is possible, but a bit messier and more challenging!
- Learn how to make balloon lanterns with the step-by-step tissue paper balloon lantern craft video tutorial by Whizzy Crafts.
- Update: Our Days Outside has another craft tutorial that teaches how to make paper lanterns with balloons, tissue paper, and nature’s treasures.
Best Luminaries for Outdoor Lanterns:
Several types of light sources can illuminate a lantern on a night. While candles provide a subtle warm glow, their smokestack and flames can be hot and dangerous, especially in paper lanterns. However, most Waldorf teachers use real beeswax tealight candles in their lanterns because they believe carrying fire helps the child remain reverent as they walk. Teachers also add some sand to the bottom of the lanterns to make them safer and guide children to take care of and guard their little light. Another safer option is using a flameless candle.
Carrying real candles can also be hot, depending on the type of lantern and the length of the handle. This is why many people put them on sticks to hold them in place. Because we live in an area where wildfires ravage the earth, and we enjoy venturing out into nature under the moon on a lantern walk, we often use fairy string lights to illuminate our lanterns, keeping our children and the world safe.
Fairy string lights look especially lovely in mason jar lanterns, as shown in the photograph of the leaf lantern below. Best of all, making them with tissue paper decoupage style keeps the glass held together even if it is accidentally dropped, helping prevent accidents. Click the link above to learn how to make your own!
Traditional Lantern Songs for a Lantern Walk:
Several songs and verses are traditionally sung as children walk with their lanterns spiraling into the deep night. Similar to the story of St. Martin, there are often several different translations or variations of the same song, where the words are slightly altered, or the songs have a somewhat different rhythm or cadence.
This is one of the many reasons it is crucial to teach children the game of telephone at a young age. Not everything we hear is repeated the same way, and the same is true of the songs, verses, stories, folktales, and fairy tales that we share or sing with children. In other words, each of the traditional lantern songs below is correct, and so is the version you’ve heard, even if it’s not the same.
Lantern Verse and Songs:
Scroll down to read the lyrics to several lantern walk songs you can use on your autumn lantern walk. There is no need to memorize every word or verse of every song. Sing the lantern song versions that you like best to add your voice to the joy and merriment of the festivities! I’ve created a printable with traditional lantern songs that you can print. Grab your copy of the lyrics for each of these Martinmas lantern songs on the lantern walk song sheet here: Traditional Lantern Walk Songs.
Links to videos and audio recordings are included to make learning the songs for your lantern walk easy. For example, HERE is a collection of nine Waldorf Martinmas Lantern Walk songs that parents, educators, and community members can listen to and learn by heart. Another comprehensive collection of lantern songs by the Cincinnati Waldorf School is HERE.
The Lantern Song Verse:
The sunlight fast is dwindling,
My little lamp needs kindling.
Its beam shines far
in darkest night.
Dear lantern guard me
With your light.
The Lantern Song by the Cincinnati Waldorf School: Listen HERE.
Glimmer, Lantern, Glimmer (or Shimmer, Lantern, Shimmer):
Glimmer, lantern, glimmer (or Shimmer, lantern, shimmer)
Little stars a-shimmer (or Little stars a-glimmer)
Over meadow, moor and dale
Flitter, flutter, elfin veil
Pee-wit, pee-wit, tikka-tikka-tik
Rucoo, rucoo.
Glimmer, lantern, glimmer
Little stars a-shimmer
Over rock and stock and stone
Wandering, skipping, little gnome
Pee-wit, pee-wit, tikka-tikka-tik
Rucoo, rucoo.
Glimmer Lantern Glimmer by Saltwater Waldorf School: Listen HERE.
High and Blue the Sky:
High and blue the sky,
trees are very tall;
wild geese flying seem so small.
See, on silent wings
in flocks they go
never parting from a single row.
We go through the land,
like a wild gees band;
brothers/sisters in one flight are we.
Clear and dark the night,
stars are very bright;
lanterns shining seem so small
See, in single file we walk along,
singing joyfully our lantern song.
We go through the land,
like a wild gees band:
brothers/sisters of one light are we.
High and Blue the Sky by Lorraine Nelson Wolf: Listen HERE.
I'm Walking With My Lantern:
I’m walking with my lantern,
my lantern walks with me
Above the stars are shining bright,
down here on Earth shine we.
The cock does crow, the cat meows,
la bimmel, la bammel, la boom.
My light goes out, we’re going home,
la bimmel, la bammel, la boom.
I’m walking with my lantern,
my lantern walks with me
Above the stars are shining bright,
down here on Earth shine we.
So shine your light through the still dark night,
la bimmel, la bammel, la boom.
My light goes out, we’re going home,
la bimmel, la bammel, la boom.
Here’s another slightly different version of the song, “I Walk With My Little Lantern,” by Lorraine Nelson Wolf: Listen HERE.
Or, I Go With My Little Lantern:
I go with my bright little lantern,
my lantern is going with me.
In heaven the stars are shining,
on earth shines my lantern with me,
The cock does crow, the cat miaows,
Lantern shines, la bimba- labamba-labim.
Listen to “I Go With My Little Lantern” by Ceilidh-Jo Rowe: Listen here. Alternatively, listen to the Cincinnati Waldorf School sing a slightly different, faster version here.
Grab your copy of the lyrics for these traditional Martinmas lantern songs HERE—> Traditional Lantern Walk Songs.
Related: Music for Kids that Won’t Drive You Nuts!
Enjoy or Organize a Lantern Walk Festival
In many cultures around the world, lantern walks are incorporated into Martinmas festivals, autumn festivals, and other types of harvest celebrations. These events often occur during the fall when the days grow shorter, and lanterns serve both practical and symbolic purposes, providing light during the darker evenings and representing the beauty of the changing season.
Find a lantern walk near you, or use the celebration ideas gathered here to create a lantern walk festival in your home, school, or community this Autumn. You may also be interested in learning more about the Fall Equinox.
Learn more about Nell Regan Kartychok, author of traditional fall lantern walk celebration ideas HERE, and Rhythms of Play HERE!
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