Winter Festival 

Briar Hill Primary School Site 2025 Thursday 19th June

The Winter Festival is a whole school community event celebrated every year on the Winter solstice. The Winter Festival marks an important turning point in the year and has a wonderful magical quality. To walk out into the starry night with glowing lanterns lighting the way, can be seen as a representation of each of us taking our own inner light out into the world. Our Winter Festival offers us an opportunity to declare, through symbolism, our wish for our own inner light to shine through the darkness. Each year we join with our children in celebration of human warmth at the darkest time of the year.
​
At school, each child makes their own lantern  and rehearses wintertime songs to sing at the festival. Beginning at dusk, families are invited to walk through a candle lit schoolyard with their children and their lanterns. The community gathers together in song and enjoys the grade 6 fire ceremony. 

The 2020 ceremony was run at school and due to COVID restrictions. We filmed the ceremony and you can view it here...
https://youtu.be/fBARRPXs2Hs