November 11 – Martinmas in Germany

nPostednon November 11, 2015

nMartinmasnis celebrated in many nations – not just Germany – but thenholiday is especially important in what might be called Germanic or “Teutonic”ncountries: Germany, Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, the Netherlands,nBritish, other Scandinavian countries, and the Flanders portion of Belgium.
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nThenkilling of the St. Martin’s goose – or, in other regions, thenbutchering of fattened cattle to produce Martinmas beef – and thenserving a large feast are part of the holiday. Some other customsninclude giving horseshoe shaped pastries called “Martin’s horns”nand “sacrificing” a basket of fruit by tossing it into anbonfire.
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nSpeakingnof fires, plenty of bonfires are lit for Martinmas, and peoplendance around them and even leap through the flames. n

nInnsome places, children make paper or turnip lanterns and parade aroundnwith their lanterns on St. Martin’s Eve. Some St. Martin’snprocessions feature St. Martin figures on horseback.

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nSt.nMartin is sometimes said to bring gifts of presents to children –nalthough usually the presents consist of apples and nuts and cakesn(not, say, X-Boxes and remote-control cars!).

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