Martinstag

Okay, so I’ve heard of St. Martin. He’s the guy from the El Greco painting, with the acid-green coat. So St. Martin’s Day should be like those other saint days we sort of observe in America, right? You make hearts for Valentine’s Day, you wear green for St. Paddy, and if you have a sympathetic Welsh heart (and don’t mind smelling a little oniony), you wear leeks for St. David’s. So, in Germany you’d expect to eat wurst or something.

Uh, no.

After the pyromaniac activities (small children waving paper bags with lit candles inside), everyone gets together around a bonfire and eats goodies. The PTA sells Martinswecken and Gluehwein (a hot, spiced wine—yes, you heard that right, at elementary school) and also some “Kinderpunsch” (presumably non-alcoholic). I’m signed up to bring “some” (10?) Martinswecken to the elementary school tonight. They sent home a sort-of recipe (ingredients, no directions) that I never bothered to look at until today because this week has been fantastically busy. For some reason I thought it was cookies, or something equivalent to a pan of brownies or something. Right. At the bakery yesterday I noticed these elaborate braided yeast rolls labeled “Martinswecken.” So now I’m making them. I sure hope they turn out, and if not, I sure hope nobody knows I brought them. I’ve never actually made anything involving raisins + yeast dough, and I’m finding that trying to work raisins into a stiff dough is nearly impossible. I couldn’t help thinking of the Big Bang while kneading. You know, the example of all the little galaxies as raisins, floating further and further apart? Only, my little yeast universe is lumpy, and the galaxies are all going to be sagging at one end, and the other end will be totally empty.

The kindergarten is repeating the whole extravaganza tomorrow. They sent home an additional recipe that is not yeast-based, but rather, baking powder plus a substance called Quark. Hmm. I wonder if the quark-based universe would work better.

Maybe they should have sent home an accompanying manual by Stephen Hawking to help us all with the baking.

Sandra Boynton's musical penguin

Okay, so if you think Sandra Boynton's genius stops at funny board books for the very young, you need to check out Dog Train. She writes music, too. Normally I don't care for "children's music"--it is usually populated by shrieky children singing lyrics dripping with What's Good For You. But Dog Train is first of all, real music performed by singers you've heard of (the duet by Weird Al Yankovic and Kate Winslet was interesting, for example...). The musical styles vary from the electric-guitar tantrum song (my daughters' personal favorite--they are 4 and almost two, suprise surprise) to ballads to Sinatra-style songs (appropriately titled, "Boring Song"). The words are all about things real kids think about--broccoli, what dogs do at night, how to get out of a boring grown-up party, and the search for a planet populated by musical cows. We had this book/CD checked out to the limits of our library card last summer, and (shh!) bought a copy of our own and are saving it for Christmas.

Anyhow, she had a new board book out, and you can download--absolutely free--the song that goes along with it--Your Personal Penguin--at http://www.workman.com/boynton/. Enjoy!

How is this NOT America...let me count the ways

Public elementary school Martinstag event tonight--what would result in a lawsuit in America:

1. Celebration of a religious holiday, period
2. Gluehwein (alcohol), sold here! Fundraiser for the school!
3. A couple hundred kids running through the school building and/or neighborhood with candle-lit paper lanterns (a sight that sends my Californian husband into convulsions--that would practically constitute an act of terrorism there). Actually, the lighting of the lanterns was pretty cool. They told the story of St. Martin, interlaced with group singing (brass choir accompaniment), ending with the idea that we can all be like St. Martin, not sharing our coats necessarily, but looking for people who need help (being friendly, sharing, etc.) and helping them. And how that gives people hope, like a light. Then all the teachers lit the kids' lanterns and they paraded through the streets.
4. Closing prayer by member of the school staff
5. Everyone recites the paternoster
6. More Gluehwein for everyone.

The very nice brass choir would have been allowed. Very lovely. My mom played trombone, and I love the sounds of all of those brass chords mixing in the cold. And the parade through the neighborhood afterwards was probably cool, too, only I was huddling inside the school with a very cold little toddler.

Tomorrow we get to do it all over again with the kindergarten/neighborhood, only then we get a real horse. (Martin rode a horse?)