Last Friday, 14 June 2024, the DHPS kindergarten and preschool hosted a lantern walk that lit up the faces of children and adults alike.
Around 120 children, along with their parents, grandparents and siblings gathered at Deutsche Höhere Privatschule (DHPS) to sing lantern songs together and parade on the school grounds with their lanterns.
For Nils Osewold, the new Head of Kindergarten and Pre-school at DHPS, it was a special first lantern walk with his team, the children and parents. "It was a very harmonious and beautiful event with lots of happy children and beaming faces," enthuses Osewold.
The DHPS Grade 11 Committee provided catering, including plenty of hot chocolate to warm up in the cool temperatures, to raise funds for their graduation celebrations next year. A big thank you to them for their efforts.
The kindergarten and pre-school educators really went the extra mile with the preparations and their welcoming spirit: They kicked off the lantern walk with a beautiful poem (see below) and emphasised not only the magic of the festival, but also the magic that every new beginning holds.
At dusk we now walk, our lanterns aglow,
as our candles flicker a soft, radiant show.
Jede Flamme soll unsere Herzen erwachen,
Gedanken um unsere gemeinsame Zukunft zu machen.
These flames are a beacon, a whisper of hope,
guiding us forward through life’s winding slope.
Ein Fest der Vielfalt, Laternen bunt und schön,
Kindergarten und Vorschule nun zusammenstehen.
For at this festival, two departments have come,
to face new beginnings, together as one.
Im Lichtermeer dieser wunderschönen Nacht,
feiern wir die Einigkeit, die unsere Ausstrahlung schafft.
Each lantern a symbol of a binding embrace,
unity in diversity in our sacred space.
Nun dürfen unsere Laternen die Dunkelheit erhellen,
und unsere Herzen gemeinsam in die Zukunft schnellen.
(Poem: Claudia Schnaitmann, DHPS kindergarten)
