Making Lanterns for Martinmas

St. Martin, St. Martin,
St. Martin road through wind and snow
on his strong horse his heart aglow
He rode so boldly through the storm,
his large cloak kept him well and warm.

By the road side, by the roadside,
by the roadside a poor man arose
out of the snow in tattered clothes
"I beg you help me in my plight
or else I'll die of cold tonight."

St. Martin, St. Martin,
St. Martin stopped his horse and drew
his sword and cut his cloak in two
one half to the beggar man he gave
and by this deed his life did save.

Martinmas is one of my children's most favorite festivals. We celebrate in many ways--singing, crafting, feasting, giving, and filling the dark with light. We've made many kinds of lanterns over the years.



My favorite lanterns are balloon lanterns which are made by simply glueing tissue paper onto balloons, letting them dry, and then popping them.

Materials: balloons, big brushes, lots of white glue, soup bowls, colored tissue paper, string or wire, a paper punch, and a candle.

Here we've begun to put glue onto our balloons. We use a watered-down glue (50% glue, 50% water). We use the soup bowls to steady the balloons so they don't go dancing away.



Here, H is applying the tissue paper over her glue. She is using large pieces of tissue. I like to use smaller ripped pieces.


Once the first layer is on, we hung them to dry. We aren't so sure this is necessary because the girls became impatient and ended up not drying between the rest of the 3 - 4 layers. It still seemed to work fine.


Here are the balloons hanging after the final layers were applied. A few tips--It looks nice to go from dark layers to light. While the green and blue are beautiful, I like to restrict the colors to the glowing oranges, yellows and reds. They feel more seasonal. I added pressed leaves after my first layer of tissue.




Here's the final product. I punch a hole and add either wire or finger-knitted yarn in order to carry it. There is a little tealight in the bottom which I stuck down with a bit of melted wax. These lanterns just absolutely glow in the dark. I can't wait to use them on Sunday when we are having a neighborhood walk.



ps: I have a PDF of the Martinmas songs and some of the music. If you'd like it, leave me a comment with an email address. I've just posted the songs.