Join us on Friday, September 27 at 8:40am
for the Michaelmas Pageant
presented by the Grade School Students
in the Pavilion at CWS
Families are invited to join us for an open-air performance of the CWS annual Michaelmas Pageant. The Pageant will begin at 8:40am. Please drop your student or students off as regularly scheduled, and then join us in front of the Music and Arts Building for coffee before the Pageant begins. Early Childhood students in Kindergarten and Playgarden may have a different schedule – some will attend part or all of the Pageant, others may not take part – please refer to your teacher’s notes.
The show will go on rain or shine, unless there is thunder or other serious weather that is prohibitive to having the children outdoors.
After the Pageant, Grade School students will complete their Tasks of Bravery, and then classes will enjoy muffins and cider on the playground – please note: class reps will be in touch with the parents/guardians in each class to arrange pumpkin, apple, or spice muffins for your class!
This will be followed this year by an Autumn Fair where teachers will lead the students in a variety of crafts and activities to celebrate the season.Dismissal for grade school students will be 12:30. Early Childhood classes may come to the Pavilion for the Pageant and return to their classrooms after, or may celebrate in another way. Early Childhood dismissal will be at 12pm. All CWS parents and guardians, and friends and alumni as well, are welcome to attend during the Pageant and Tasks of Bravery!
In Waldorf Schools around the world — particularly those in the Northern Hemisphere where the holiday coincides with the cooler weather and increasing darkness — Michaelmas is a beloved and highly anticipated annual celebration. But for our new families, this may be the first time hearing or experiencing this Festival. If you have questions about Michaelmas, please be in touch! Festivals are such an important part of each year at CWS and we are excited to help our new families understand what’s going on and feel included in the celebrations!
Michaelmas, or the Feast of Michael and All Angels, is celebrated on the 29th of September each year (our students will be celebrating on Friday, September 27). Falling near the Autumnal Equinox on the calendar, it is often the first Festival celebrated during the school year in the Waldorf School. There is usually a harvest aspect to the celebration, apple cider and pumpkin muffins are a staple! The fiery colors of the dragon are reflected in the changing leaves and the pageant costumes of the students.
The Michaelmas Pageant tells the legend of Saint George conquering the dragon with the aid of the archangel Saint Michael, freeing a noble princess from a horrible fate. Rather than kill the beast, Saint George tames it and the villagers take it in and teach it to plough the fields, overcoming their greatest fear and putting it to work for their advantage.
An archangel in the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic traditions, Saint Michael here represents the courage of each individual. Waldorf schools around the world celebrate Michaelmas because it is a reminder that the dragon and the saint are both within us, the dragon representing cold rationality with no moral compass, leading us to evil, and the archangel Michael demonstrating the inner strength, initiative, and selflessness we must nurture in order to conquer our fears and anxieties and harness them to serve our more noble purposes. Into darkness, fear, apathy and depression, Michael wields his sword of light that we may be inspired to face inner and outer darkness with renewed strength of will and purpose in our lives.
