Watching footage is like holiday magic...

Reflections from Annika,

Director of THE LAST WITCH:

Watching footage is like holiday magic…

Piecing together the story of THE LAST WITCH takes twists and turns. Around every bend there is something new to discover.

I am watching footage to find  the ways that the students who were part of Ms. LaPierre’s 8th grade classes that worked to exonerate Elizabeth Johnson Jr relate Elizabeth’s story to their own. Even though Elizabeth lived 330 years before them, the students find lots of poignant points of identification.

Many students realize that they have had similar experiences of being bullied as Elizabeth did, and how easy it is for groups of people to accuse someone without stopping to consider the validity of those claims.

What they also come to realize is how much easier it is to stand up for someone who is a family member, like a sister or a brother, than to stand up for a stranger. Speaking up for a stranger takes more effort, but is just as important to do in a civil society.

That is powerful message of awareness coming from young people.

Until next time,

Annika

Don’t miss

Mystical Traditions

on our social media!

We are honoring traditions around the world that speak to the magic of the season on our social media channels. Recently we shared the story of St. Lucia/St. Lucy who is celebrated on December 13 in Sweden and Finland, among other countries. Our director Annika honored her traditions by participating in the festivities at IKEA in Burbank, CA!

The Feast of Saint Lucy, is a Christian feast day observed on December 13th. Saint Lucy's Day is celebrated most widely in Scandinavia, Italy, and the island nation of Saint Lucia, each emphasizing a different aspect of her story. In Scandinavia, where Lucy is called Santa/Sankta Lucia, she is represented, as a lady in a white dress symbolizing a baptismal robe and a red sash symbolizing the blood of her martyrdom, with a crown or wreath of candles on her head symbolizing the flames that were intended to engulf her but that parted to spare her.

Pictured is a group with Swedish connections celebrating Lucia Day, with our director Annika on the right.