St. Martin's Day
Description:
Such abundance is no coincidence - St. Martin's Day is the last holiday before the long Christmas fast. People have fun, eat a lot of delicious food, so that until December 25 (before Catholic Christmas) there is no food of animal origin.
St. Martin’s Day is celebrated in many European countries. Many cafes and restaurants serve roasted goose and young wine.
When it is dark, in all settlements there are processions of singing children with lit lanterns.
It is believed that when children walk in the streets, God turns to them and helps them become kinder and more responsive.
It is celebrated in memory of St. Martin of Tours (316-397), the patron saint of France. According to legend, Martin, not wanting to be elected bishop, tried to hide in a flock of geese. They, however, exposed him, and Martin, offended, ordered after some time to kill all the geese in the district. Hence the custom of eating the "Martin goose" (Mortensgå) on this day is a custom that took root in European countries, but not in Norway, where the holiday had little to do with the official church. In fact, this day was the beginning of the slaughter season. The Norwegian peasants believed that on this day it was necessary to amuse themselves at the table.
The main festive dish in most places was pork. The piglet sometimes replaced the goose as the main emblem of the holiday.
Saint Martin was also seen as the patron saint of the poor. Some engravings show him cutting his cloak in two to share with the poor. It was believed that on St. Martin’s Day one should treat poor neighbors well. In some cities, children walked the streets and gave impromptu concerts for a reasonable fee.
The peasants predicted the weather: if it rains on St. Martin, he will not stop pouring until the New Year. Also guessed on the chest bone of the goose: white spots foreshadowed a snowy winter, brown - frosty. On the front of the bone was judged about the days before Yule (Christmas), on the back - about the days after.
Cattle were traditionally given a “winter treat” (vinterfor), when a little crushed needles were mixed into ordinary food. It was believed that the juices that roam in coniferous trees, endow the cattle with special strength on St. Martin’s Day.
In some places, the holiday was called “bear day” (Bjornekvelden, literally – “bear evening”): it was believed that the bear on this day goes to the den.