St. Martin’s Celebrations

The feast of St. Martin is celebrated widely in Europe. It is a saint’s day with a lot of levels. It represents deep autumn and it takes place Nov. 11,  traditionally the time when the soil was seeded, harvesting was done, animals were slaughtered for winter and day laborers were moving on.

It originated in France with Saint Martin of Tours. He was a humble man who did not want to be involved in much fanfare, more inclined to be a monk than a bishop. The Catholic church had other plans for him; however, so he ran. He almost got to live the life of an aesthetic, too, if it weren’t for a gaggle of cackling geese who revealed his hiding place forcing him into a more public life.

As an understandable response, the common dish to eat on St. Martin’s Day is a roasted goose because they clearly deserve to be punished for millennia. But, more importantly, Nov. 11 in the Catholic calendar marks a period of celebration before the preparations involved with the beginning of Advent. It is seen in many ways as a celebration of life and abundance before the onset of winter and periods of fasting and feast — think of it as a mini Thanksgiving. So invite some friends over, roast a goose, bake a pie, grab a few bottles of wine and make St. Martin’s Day count this year!