St. Martin's Day Nov. 11

  • Published
  • By Iris Reiff
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  Each November, local townspeople host a colorful torchlight procession in
honor of St. Martin.

St. Martin's Day is Nov. 11, but the dates for celebrations vary from town
to town and sometimes take place days before or after. Germans celebrate St.
Martin's Day with a procession where children carry candles or
battery-operated lanterns through the town.

The children sing St. Martin songs. "Sankt Martin ist ein guter Mann," or
St. Martin is a good man, is one of the many songs parents practice with
their children to prepare them for the procession.

In some towns, firefighters lead the parade with torches in hand, followed
by the town band and a man portraying St. Martin, clad in the uniform of a
Roman legionnaire, on horseback. The colorfully illuminated procession ends
with a huge bonfire. "St. Martin" then encourages the children and hands out
large sugar pretzels.

In some towns, the traditional ceremony ends with an opportunity to win a
goose, the popular "St. Martin's Gans," and other prizes, usually at a
well-known spot in town, a hall or local fire department. Raffle tickets are
usually sold by local firefighters. A limited number of tickets for the
goose raffle can also be purchased at the fire department prior to the
raffle.

The goose became associated with St. Martin's Day because this time of year
is when the goose-fattening period ends. After the summer harvest, farmers
let the geese find their food on mowed fields. The only cost to the farmer
is tending to the geese, but as soon as it gets cold, farmers sell or kill
the fattened geese. Parsons demanded geese as payment for the taxes due to
them at this time, and the custom developed into a tradition of eating goose
on St. Martin's Day.

According to legend, St. Martin was born early in the fourth century during
the military administration of the Emperor Constantine in Szombathel,
Hungary. He led a Christian life growing up and served his time in the Roman
army. Although other officers mistreated soldiers and slaves, St. Martin
distributed what he could save from his pay to the poor.

While riding outside the gates of Amiens, he encountered a freezing beggar
who asked for help, but Martin had already given all his pay to the poor. He
drew his sword, slit his tunic in two and gave half to the beggar. The
legend states the following night, Christ appeared to St. Martin and said,
"What you have done to the least of my brothers, you have done to me."
Although Martin was rather modest, his devotion, kindness and fairness were
such that his fame spread throughout the country, and he was soon appointed
as Bishop of Tours in France for 25 years until he died at age 82.

Some local Saint Martin parades take place in:

Spangdahlem, Nov. 11, 6 p.m. from the local church
Auw an der Kyll, Nov. 12, 6 p.m. from the Gemeindehalle or community hall
Preist, Nov. 11, 6:10 p.m. from the local church
Hosten, Nov. 13, 6:30 p.m. from the Dorfbrunnen fountain area
Speicher, Nov. 13, 6 p.m. from the local church
Phillipsheim, Nov. 14, 6 p.m. from the Kallenbachbruecke bridge
Herforst, Nov. 14, 5 p.m. following a short church gathering
Binsfeld, Nov. 13, 5:30 p.m. following a local church gathering
Niederkail, Nov. 14, 6 p.m. from the village center
Landscheid, Nov. 13, 6 p.m. from the village center
Niersbach, Nov. 14, 6 p.m. from the Toepferstrasse bridge
Greverath, Nov. 13, 6 p.m. from Zum Weissenstein Strasse
Hetzerath, Nov. 13, 6 p.m. following a local church gathering
Salmtal/Doerbach, Nov. 13, 6:30 p.m. from the community center
Bitburg Sued, Nov. 10, 6:30 p.m. from the Bitburg Sued Grundschule or
Elementary school
Bitburg-Mötsch, Nov. 13, 6:30 p.m. from the Moetsch church
Bitburg Nord, Nov. 11, 6 p.m. from the Bitburg Nord Elementary school
Biersdorf am See, Nov. 10, 6 p.m. from the corner of Kornmarkt and
Muehlenstrasse.
Wittlich-Bombogen, Nov. 14, 6 p.m., from the street corner Berlinger Strasse
and Zum Bruehl
Wittlich-Wengerohr, Nov. 13, 6 p.m., from Schmiedestrasse
Plein, Nov. 10, 6 p.m., following a local church gathering
Osann-Monzel, Nov. 13, 6 p.m. from the local Elementary School or
Grundschule
Schladt, Nov. 10, 6:30 p.m. from the community center
Niederscheidweiler, Nov. 11, 6:15 from the local church
Bettenfeld, Nov. 13, 6 p.m. from the local church
Manderscheid, Nov. 12, 5:30 p.m. following a local church gathering
Wallscheid, Nov. 11, 7 p.m. from the local Kindergarden