ST. MARTIN'S DAY EVENT PLANNED.

Byline: Daily News

QUARTZ HILL -- The second annual St. Martin's Day Lantern Walk in Quartz Hill is expected to draw families from as far away as Santa Monica, Barstow and Bakersfield.

Antelope Valley German School and Kern Kinder will present the event at 6:30 p.m. Saturday at Resurrection Lutheran Church, 42217 55th St. W.

The purpose is to teach children the customs used to celebrate the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, a Roman soldier who later became a bishop, and the story of him sharing his military cloak on a bitterly cold evening with a freezing beggar.

In Germany, children make their own lanterns and, at dark, walk through the streets singing. In some areas, the children go door to door and are rewarded for their singing and creative lanterns with sweets.

The Quartz Hill program will include readings in German and English of the story of Martin sharing his cloak, the singing of German songs and a rider dressed as 4th century Roman soldier on a white horse.

The evening concludes with children and families following `Martin' through the neighborhood with their handmade lanterns and singing songs. The public is welcome.

The German kindergarten class will sing ``Laterne, Laterne,'' the beginning class will sing ``Ich geh mit Meiner Laterne,'' opera singer Laurie Stachik will perform ``Sankt Martin ritt durch Schee und Wind.'' Following will be a brief play about Martin sharing his cloak.

This is one of several events Antelope Valley German School and Kern Kinder provide parents that are raising their children bilingually in German and English.

The Antelope Valley school is one of 11 of the German-American School Association, which has been providing German-language instruction to children for over 50 years.

According to figures from the U.S. Census Bureau, 9.8 percent of Californians are of German ancestry. The 2000 census shows that in California, 141,670 speak German at home.

For more information on this event, St. Martin, and the traditions surrounding St. Martins Day, the Antelope Valley German School, or Kern Kinder contact [e-mail] or call [phone].