The Forgotten Feast of Saint Martin
How we forgot to prepare for winter
Long before children begged for sweets dressed as skeletons, Europe celebrated Saint Martin: a true, pan-European feast
Since the Middle Ages, (poor) children have gone door to door on 11 November. A custom that predates Christianity
Children still go door to door in parts of the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Scandinavia. They carry lanterns and sing. They receive sweets. But most have no idea why.
The day once belonged to the Roman god Mars (animal sacrifices) and German god Wodan (fires). It was also the close of the agricultural year.
The Church did not destroy the feast, but sanctified it.
One Dutch children’s song retains the memory of the original feast:
‘Sint-Maarten, Sint-Maarten, de koeien hebben staarten, de meisjes hebben rokjes aan…’
Saint Martin, Saint Martin, the cows have tails, the girls wear skirts…
The livestock was slaughtered (cow’s tails), which was a great feast (that’s why girls wear skirts). The end date of the agricultural calendar. And one of the final days before winter darkness fell.
The Feast of Saint Martin in the Middle Ages
In the Frankish Church, 11 November marked the start of Advent. Which was not just four weeks, but six. From Martinmas to Epiphany (January 6), the faithful fasted. Which meant abstinence: no meat or indulgences. Just as the 40 day period of Lent prepared the soul for the Resurrection, Advent once prepared the soul for the Incarnation.
And Saint Martin’s Day stood as a final moment of abundance before abstinence. Much like Mardi Gras before Ash Wednesday.
It mattered in an agricultural world. Because November was when surplusses ended. Rents were due, fields stopped producing, and animals that couldn’t be fed during winter were slaughtered. Their meat was preserved or eaten immediately.
The feast did not exist in isolation. It was economic, communal, liturgical, and seasonal, marking the end of the rural calendar. It served the same function as December 31st nowadays.
The Origins of the Feast
The origins of the feast are debated. Some link it to pre-Christian fire rituals or Germanic fertility rites tied to Wodan and Mars. And others insist the Church created the date to honour Saint Martin of Tours, who died in 397.
From the 6th century onward, the Feast of Saint Martin spread through Western Europe. The Synod of Mâcon in 581 made it the official start of Advent across the Frankish world. While Rome eventually reduced Advent to four weeks, 11 November remained the opening of the fasting season in large parts of Europe until the High Middle Ages.
The Legend of Martin of Tours
Martin of Tours was a Roman soldier. The legend goes that on a winter day, he encountered a beggar without a cloak. He drew his sword, cut his military cape in half, and gave part to the man. That night, Christ appeared in a dream, wearing the same half-cloak. Martin converted. He left the army. He became a monk and eventually bishop of Tours.
This act of charity became the foundation for the feast. Because the ritual was always social, not just spiritual. It taught children and peasants to prepare. And to give.
In some traditions, Martin tried to avoid becoming bishop by hiding in a goose shelter. The geese gave him away by their cries. That’s why goose is still eaten on 11 November in parts of Germany, Hungary and Austria.
Local Traditions Across Europe
In the Low Countries, the feast meant the end of fresh meat. Farmers slaughtered pigs, cows, and geese. The first wine of the year was opened.
Bruegel painted the feast with peasants dancing, drinking, and eating the first blood sausage of the season.
Today’s candy-collection ritual comes from a much older custom: the poor received alms, and the rich gave because they had to.
In parts of the Netherlands and Belgium, it was explicitly a feast of begging. Children, often barefoot, walked the streets singing for food, firewood, or coins. They carried lanterns made of hollowed-out turnips or sugar beets, with candles inside.
Their songs referenced the hunger of winter:
‘Sinte Maarten, wat is het koud / Geef een turrefje of een hout’
(Saint Martin, it’s so cold, give a bit of peat or wood)
But th feast isn’t unique to the Netherlands. It appears across Europe, each place carrying part of the memory.
Belgium: Especially in West Flanders, Limburg, and the East Cantons. Children sing, go door to door, or gather around large fires. In Mechelen, Sinte Mette includes a man carried in a chair, a tradition preserved by the Sinte Mette Genootschap.
Germany: Celebrated as Martinstag. Children parade with lanterns. A man dressed as Saint Martin rides a horse. Procession end with a fire and bread figures called Weckmann. In many towns, goose is eaten. And in some, elders receive sweets too. The community collects money to buy candy for both children and elderly.
Austria and Hungary: Known as Martinigansl or Márton-nap. Goose is essential. So is wine. The day marked the final chance to eat richly before fasting. In Hungary, children sing door to door, and priests bless the new wine.
Scandinavia and France: Celebrated under names like Sinte-Mette or Mortensaften. Lanterns, processions, and local legends persist in Skåne, North France, and Alsace. A common food in Sweden is Svartsoppa: a soup made from goose blood, traditionally eaten the evening before the feast.
Jura (France and Switzerland): The feast remains closest to its original form. Families serve elaborate meals using every part of the pig or cow, eaten in a set order: organs first, roasts last.
A week later, they hold the revira, which is a second feast to finish what could not be preserved.
Decay and Revival
By the 20th century, Sint-Maarten had declined in much of the Netherlands. In urban centres, the begging aspect was frowned upon. And the rich didn’t want their children associated with handouts. In Amsterdam, the feast all but vanished.
But, in the 1980s and 90s, it suddenly returned. First in the outer boroughs. Then into the city centre. It came back in the form we know now: paper lanterns, battery-powered lights, and sweets purchased in bulk.
The traditions survived. But the meaning behind it did not. Today it’s just another excuse for sugar, and Halloween has come to compete.
Happy Saint Martin’s day!
-Robbert
I think you mean from Martinmas to Christmas Eve, not Martinmas to Epiphany as the period of fasting.