The luminaries usually light up Schell’s Christmas Eve and Christmas, but downpouring rain left the Marti family with no choice but to postpone. Retired Schell’s Brewery Owner and Event Organizer Jodi Marti said this event has never been postponed before in its long history.

“The luminaries have been going on since the 60s,” she said. “Ted Marti’s grandpa was in Texas, and saw them in Texas and brought it back and they’ve been every year since. A couple of years ago we got them lit on Christmas Eve and then it rained. Christmas night we came out and we tried but we couldn’t do it again Christmas night.”

Jodi Marti said they tried everything in their power to keep the event on Christmas Eve. She volunteered the idea of putting little tents over each luminary to keep them dry. Ultimately, there was nothing that could be done. Even so, Jodi Marti said preparations went normally.

“We’re putting them out and doing it the same way,” she said. “At first we said ‘Oh, we’ll do less.’ Just as many went out as normal.”

Wyatt Watt, Winston Marti, and Nels Schnobrich (L-R) set up the luminaries before it’s 6 p.m. start time. The bags were filled with sand and had a candle in the middle.

One thing slightly awry was the sand. Typically, the sand is left indoors so it stays dry and warm. Otherwise, the elements would freeze the sand. Jodi Marti said the sand was brought out and got rained on, and though it was brought inside for a week some of the sand was still wet. She said some of the bags were like mud, but it didn’t stop them.

“The truck gets full of sand and the kids; grandkids as they’re getting older are helping,” Jodi Marti said. “We put them in the truck and they help load the sand in the bags. They all had their little construction trucks and were just playing in the sand more than anything but that’s part of it.”

With the postponed celebration, a slightly different cast of characters set up the event this year. Some who were free at Christmas had other plans for New Year’s and vice versa. Jodi Marti said they still had a great time of it like always.

“It’s organized chaos,” she said “We had other family members that usually do this. They couldn’t come because they had other New Year’s plans. We worked it out.”

With the luminaries postponed, they served as a follow-up to the Brew Year’s Eve event also at Schell’s Brewery. Face painting, New Year’s Eve photos, and a balloon drop countdown at 3 p.m. were some of the different celebratory activities. The luminaries have never shared the spotlight with a different event before, but Jodi Marti said the new experience turned out well.

Some relatives of the Marti family put the finishing touches on each luminary with a blow torch. Jodi Marti said it is her family that puts everything together for the event.

“The Beer Hall was full of people and there were a lot of kids with painted faces,” she said. “It looks like they had a good time. Usually, when we do it it’s quieter. By 2 p.m. the gift shop closes and everything here gets real quiet. Now there are a lot more people but that’s okay. That’s what they were doing it for and we’re still doing our thing.”

If there’s one thing they’ve learned from this debacle, Jodi Marti said it’s that nature always wins.

“There’s nothing you can do about it,” she said. “You go with the flow. When it was pouring down rain we thought ‘Well what can we do?’ New Year’s Eve came up, I came up with an idea, and it worked out. We might not have as many people but that’s okay. It’s our family’s gift back to the community and whoever comes comes.”

One person who was grateful for this approach was Connie Leland, who has been going to the luminaries since they started. As someone born and raised in New Ulm, she said the luminaries are a bright spot during the local holiday season.

“It’s a beautiful and peaceful spot,” Leland said. “I [enjoy] the feeling I get from being here. It’s such a pretty experience at Christmas time.”