New Year’s Eve 2022/23 marks the 100th anniversary of the fire at the First Goetheanum.
Thousands of people came to see the huge fire that lit up the countryside, coming from as far as Basel on the cold winter night. Anthroposophy would not be Anthroposophy and Rudolf Steiner would not be this person of relentless dedication if, out of this tragic end of so much work and artistic creation, the very next day the beginning of something new wasn’t born. It is the great death and rebirth in the history of Anthroposophy. We want to commemorate this moment by coming together for a night vigil, an all-night vigil in the manner of Anthroposophical life, that is, of many initiatives spread throughout the campus. After the end of the Christmas meeting, the long night will begin at 10 pm. This will be followed by readings of eyewitness accounts in the Helene Vink House, where Rudolf Steiner spent the night of the fire. The Foundation Stone Meditation will be held at midnight, before and after which concerts will take place inside and outside. Fireplaces across the grounds will give rise to conversations, and a guided tour of the stars to tranquility. A speech will lead into the new year and a New Year’s concert into the new day. For ourselves and the history of the fire, we hope for spiritual fire in and around the Goetheanum on that night! What could you contribute? What could your branch, your school class offer? Perhaps a concert at night, a song in the darkness, maybe stories we can tell each other from ancient or coming times, about the great fires: Ephesus, Alexandria, Rome, London? Michaelmas is the time for new ideas. If you have an idea for the night vigil: wonderful! Please contact clara.von.recklinghausen@goetheanum.ch ASAP.
Image Simon Moog Nahc from unsplash – Translation by Simone Ioannou
