Our First Saint!

Last night we celebrated St. Martin's Day with a lantern parade in Dafna's class.  It was a lovely evening-- perfect Fall weather, crisp with a clear sky, and 100 Kindergartners walking through dry leaves with candles in homemade lanterns. 

What could go wrong?  

The singing circle

D and Clara and their (unlit) lanterns

Lit

She was very proud (when not heaving)

The long line of lanterns snaking behind us

Rumor has it that there was only one "incident" and that it wasn't even so big.  We saw one of the teachers on the bus home, so they didn't even go out drinking afterward.

We joined together for a bonfire, singing and an appearance of St. Martin on a hobby horse (the skit only alluded to Jesus) and hot cider before heading home for dinner. 

Martin seems like a pretty good saint for us to begin with-- he's all about modesty, helping others and eating geese.  These days between now and Christmas seem to parallel the Jewish months of Nisan/Iyar (known in my head as the "Season of Yoms") when there is a minor, modern Jewish holiday/commemoration nearly every week (Yom HaShoah, Yom HaZikaron...).  Plans are already starting at school for the arrival of Advent and St. Nikolaus, who apparently ensures that we all polish our shoes.


In other news, I'm home for the 4th straight day with sick children.  Turns out that there's some kind of stomach bug going around Dafna's class that she turned up with on Friday evening.  We though she was better yesterday afternoon and risked taking her to the Lantern Parade last night (outside, open air, no touching, etc).  Turns out we were wrong.  Oh, and she has lice, too.  And, did I tell you?  She perforated her eardrum last week and we made our first German trip to the doctor-- 3 buses and a subway.  Fun times!  Micah complained of a tummy ache last night and this morning.  Several things played into the calculus to keep him home:

1. I'm home with Dafna anyway
2. He still complained of a stomachache when reminded that today is basketball club after school
3. He had a field trip to an "Altersheim" (old age home), which is really a bad place to introduce the stomach flu
4. Vomiting at school would hurt his already shaky social status

So, we're home in our jammies, picking nits and watching Pippi Longstocking and basketball game repeats.  On the bright side, I didn't have to make lunch...

An equation for you:
lice+stomach flu= run out of detergent+no dryer= my house looks like the shuk