The Lantern festival

After a fun filled celebration of Diwali, ‚the festival of lights‘, it was time to celebrate ‘The Laternefest‘ in my son’s crèche. It literally means the lantern festival, something, similar to our Diwali festival! It was organized by the crèche authorities and the notice was displayed almost a month ago asking the parents to confirm their presence. I had put my response long back and was looking forward to the event. It was going to be our first event at the crèche with the German kids and their families, so was little excited and nervous. 11^th November, Saint Martin’s day is the day when this Laternfest is celebrated every year.

We gathered at 4 pm in the crèche and the turnout was quite good. Many parents had prepared the lantern at home, I hadn’t! So I had the option of picking up one from the lot which was kept for parents like me who couldn’t manage doing it at home. The director, Miss Schiffer was the only amongst staff who was participating in the procession with a group of kids as most of the parents were there for the event. She led us all. We got out of the crèche with our lanterns and children at about 4.15 pm. The lantern had a stick and an automatic light, which could be switched on and off with the help of a button. It was so innovative. I couldn’t have imagined something like this in India, where the lanterns light up only with the help of electric current. It was decided to walk a particular stretch near the crèche and we set off in groups with our kids. There were kids of all shapes and sizes. Some were in the pram, some wanted to walk. We walked a distance, waited at one spot, sang one song and then moved ahead. The handout of songs was already made available to us. I sang with other parents too, it was fun, singing in German, first time in 15 years after I learnt German. I had sung German songs while doing the courses in Max Muller Bhavan. I heard a lot of German music later, but hadn’t got a chance to sing in German. It felt good. My toddler obviously had no clue of what was happening. He was happily walking on the road with his best friend, Julian and giving poses for pictures, which was taken care by the director’s husband, Mr. Schiffer. We were also trying to mingle with other parents by talking to them about various topics. It was a nice walk with lot of talking, cheering, singing. The weather was also optimal for a walk and as it is the beginning of winter, it became dark by 5-5:15. 

We took a round and came back to the crèche. Bretzels, cake, hot tea was awaiting us and we all munched on the goodies interacting with each other. We all returned the lantern sticks so that they can be used next year and went home with a smile on our face. It was a well organized, well managed event with so many kids around. The patience and perseverance of the staff taking care of the kids spoke so much without words actually. They all made this event a hit, with and without their presence, but with their planning love and affection.