Laternefest, originally uploaded by scottpartee.

“Ich gehe mit meine Laterne und meine Laterne mit mir.”—traditional song that is sung on Saint Martin’s Day.
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Saint Martin’s Day celebrations at the Parish of Saint Ulrich. It’s called “lantern festival” and the main theme is generosity and sharing with special emphasis on helping the less fortunate. It was super cute.

After the little celebration, in which the children sang and paraded around with the lanterns they had made, I was chatting with one of the Kindergarten fathers about just how special our little scene was.

Here we were, exiting our baroque parish church, next to one of the oldest houses in Vienna, with cobble-stoned streets sloping to a cramped little corner of beautiful old buildings. The priest was chatting with us about the technical challenges of heating a giant old church, while a steady stream of children, many of whom had parents who had likely marched in the very same parade thirty years before, while watched by grandparents who had done the same.

“I feel like we are drenched in culture, right now!” he exclaimed.