Winter is looming, and one Boston neighborhood in particular has a special way of celebrating this impending season of cold and darkness. By circling Jamaica Pond with thousands of handmade lanterns, the participants in The Lantern Parade warmly welcome the new season.
The Lantern Parade in Jamaica Plain, hosted by Spontaneous Celebrations, celebrated its 41st anniversary on Oct. 19 and 20. Thousands attend the parade each year, welcoming families, college students, and community members of all ages. The parade was created by teacher, artist, and community leader, Femke Rosenbaum.
Originally from the Netherlands, Rosenbaum moved to Jamaica Plain in 1973 with her husband. She bought an old Victorian house and began raising her three children in the heart of JP. In 1984 she created the first Lantern Parade, inspired by an old Dutch tradition.
“We have a tradition called St. Martin, which is our version of Halloween,” said Rosenbaum. “Instead of having pumpkins and going trick or treating in disguise, the children go door to door with lanterns.”
The lanterns are crafted in workshops several weeks before the parade. Using recycled materials, finger paint, and donated paper, the lanterns are prepared for personal use and selling at the event.
The neighborhood has a rich history of community events, especially when it comes to community-based activism against city infrastructure. In the 1980s, the neighborhood famously fought against the construction of a highway, which would have displaced hundreds, and in the process, created what’s now known as Southwest Corridor Park.
“So many people were so negative about the neighborhood and they would blame the kids too,” Rosenbaum said. “And I thought, I don’t want my kids to grow up feeling guilty about a neighborhood. So, I started doing things out of our house.”
Rosenbaum started hosting art classes in her basement and theater performances in the attic. In 1979, she and her friends took part in the first Wake Up The Earth Festival, an annual JP celebration with music, parades, and dance that takes place in May. The festival surrounds the railroad tracks in Southwest Corridor Park, honoring the defeat of the highway construction.
“The people felt that by drumming, they would wake up the earth, and then the higher they jumped, the higher the crops would grow,” said Rosenbaum.
Rosenbaum’s community efforts eventually founded Spontaneous Celebrations, a community arts center located a short distance from the Stony Brook T stop. The building, formerly a German club, fitness center, and lesbian nightclub, now houses a theater, kitchen, and event space.
Rosenbaum’s dream is to turn Spontaneous Celebrations into a “public square,” where neighbors can gather, cook, dance, and teach art classes. Rosenbaum looks to colleges such as Boston University, MassArt, and Emerson College to document the events happening at Spontaneous Celebrations.
“My hope is that we could get kids to do it, somehow get the stories, because there’s stories, the characters here, it’s just unbelievable,” said Rosenbaum.
Participants of the Lantern Parade gathered at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday night, huddling around fragrant stands serving apple cider and local refreshments. Children danced in costumes to the sounds of music and lively chatter while volunteers sold lanterns and concessions. As daylight faded, everyone started their journey around the pond.
“Winter is coming,” said Rosenbaum. “It’s getting darker. It’s better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.”
