Holiday Season 2018: Martinmas Eve Part 2 - Martinmas, A Little Research

Saturday, November 10, 2018

My previous post was on Michaelmas. This one will focus on Martinmas. 

"Saint Martin's day, also known as Martinmas, is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours and is celebrated on November 11 each year. This is the time when autumn wheat seeding was completed, and the annual slaughter of fattened cattle produced 'Martinmas beef.' Historically, hiring fairs were held where farm laborers would seek new posts."

"Saint Martin of Tours was a Roman soldier who was baptised as an adult and became a bishop in a French town. The most famous legend concerning him was that he had once cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm, to save the latter from the cold. That night, he dreamt of Jesus, wearing the half-cloak and saying to the angels, 'Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is now baptised; he has clothed me.' Saint Martin died on November 8, 397."

"The goose became a symbol of St. Martin of Tours because of a legend that when trying to avoid being ordained bishop he had hidden in a goose pen, where he was betrayed by the cackling of the geese. St. Martin's feast day falls in November, when geese are ready for killing. St. Martin's Day was an important medieval autumn feast, and the custom of eating goose spread to Sweden from France. It was primarily observed by the craftsmen and noblemen of the towns. In the peasant community, not everyone could afford to eat goose, so many ate duck or hen instead."

"The feast coincides... with harvest-time, the time when newly produced wine is ready for drinking, and the end of winter preparations, including the butchering of animals. Because of this, St. Martin's Feast is much like the American Thanksgiving - a celebration of the earth's bounty."

"In some countries, Martinmas celebrations begin at the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour of this eleventh day of the eleventh month (that is, at 11:11 am on November 11). In others, the festivities commence on St. Martin's Eve (that is, on November 10). Bonfires are built and children carry lanterns in the streets after dark, singing songs for which they are rewarded with candy."

"In the United States, St. Martin's Day celebrations are uncommon, and when they do happen, reflect the cultural heritage of a local community."

"Many German restaurants feature a traditional menu with goose and gluhwein (a mulled red wine). St. Paul, Minnesota celebrates with a traditional lantern procession around Rice Park [I've never heard of this]. The evening includes German treats and traditions that highlight the season of giving."

Holiday Season 2018: Martinmas Eve Part 1 - Michaelmas, A Little Research

Saturday, November 10, 2018

Never before this year had I heard of Michaelmas and Martinmas. I read something about Martinmas a couple weeks ago. I can't remember exactly where I read it or what it was about but it was enough for the name to stick in my head. Last week at church the pastor was speaking about something in regard to the time between Michaelmas and Martinmas. The two days also were referenced in a book I'm currently reading and my curiosity was piqued. I turned immediately to Google. 

Here's what I found out: 

"Michaelmas (also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael,) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September."

"In Christian angelology, the Archangel Michael is the greatest of all the Archangels and is honored for defeating Satan in the war in Heaven. He is one of the principal angelic warriors, seen as a protector against the dark of night, and the administrator of cosmic intelligence. Michaelmas has also delineated time and seasons for secular purposes as well, particularly in Britain and Ireland as one of the quarter days."

"The name Michaelmas comes from a shortening of 'Michael's Mass,' in the same style as Christmas (Christ's Mass) and Candlemas (Candle Mass, the Mass where traditionally candles used throught the year would be blessed."

"Because it falls near the equinox, it is associated in the northern hemisphere with the beginning of autumn and the shortening of days. It was also one of the English, Welsh and Irish quarter days when accounts had to be settled. On manors, it was the day when a reeve was elected from the peasants. Michaelmas hiring fairs were held at the end of September or beginning of October."

"A traditional meal for the day includes goose." A traditional bread "made from equal parts of barley, oats, and rye without using any metal implements."

"Folklore in the British Isles suggests that Michaelmas day is the last day that blackberries can be picked. It is said that when St Michael expelled Lucifer, the devil, from heaven, he fell from the skies and landed in a prickly blackberry bush. Satan cursed the fruit, scorched them with his fiery breath, stamped, spat and urinated on them, so that they would be unfit for eating. As it is considered ill-advised to eat them after 29 September, a Michaelmas pie is made from the last of the season."