Әулие Мартин күні

Feast day of Saint Martin of Tours

Saint Martin's Day or Martinmas (obsolete: Martlemas), and historically called Old Halloween or Old Hallowmas Eve, is the feast day of Saint Martin of Tours and is celebrated in the liturgical year on 11 November. In the Middle Ages and early modern period, it was an important festival in many parts of Europe, particularly Germanic speaking regions. In these regions, it marked the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter and the "winter revelling season". Traditions include feasting on 'Martinmas goose' or 'Martinmas beef', drinking the first wine of the season, and mumming. In some German and Dutch speaking towns, there are processions of children with lanterns (Laternelaufen), sometimes led by a horseman representing St Martin. The saint was also said to bestow gifts on children. In the Rhineland, it is also marked by lighting bonfires.

Martin of Tours (died 397) was a Roman soldier who was baptized as an adult and became a bishop in Gaul. He is best known for the tale whereby he cut his cloak in half with his sword, to give half to a beggar who was dressed in only rags in the depth of winter. That night Martin had a vision of Jesus Christ wearing the half cloak. In his study "Medieval English Martinmesse: The Archaeology of a Forgotten Festival", Martin Walsh suggests that 'Martinmas' had roots in a pre Christian festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter. In the ancient Roman world, 10 November was reckoned as the beginning of winter, while among the Insular Celtic peoples, it was marked by the 1 November festival of Samhain/Calan Gaeaf.

Traditionally, in many parts of Europe, St Martin's Day marked the end of the harvest and the beginning of winter. The feast coincides with the end of the Octave of Allhallowtide.

Martinmas was traditionally when livestock were slaughtered for winter provision. In winegrowing regions of Europe, the first wine was ready around the time of Martinmas. Although there was no mention of a link between St Martin and winegrowing by Gregory of Tours or other early hagiographers, St Martin is widely credited in France with helping to spread winemaking throughout the region of Tours (Touraine) and facilitating vine planting. The old Greek tale that Aristaeus discovered the advantage of pruning vines after watching a goat has been appropriated to St Martin. He is credited with introducing the Chenin blanc grape, from which most of the white wine of western Touraine and Anjou is made. In the nineteenth century it was recorded that young people danced around the fire and leapt through the flames, and that the ashes were strewn on the fields to make them fertile. on January 6 (56 days). An addition to and an equivalent to the 40 days fasting of Lent, given its weekend breaks, this was called Quadragesima Sancti Martini (Saint Martin's Lent, or literally "the fortieth of"). This is rarely observed now. This period was shortened to begin on the Sunday before December and became the current Advent within a few centuries.

In Austria, St Martin's Day is celebrated the same way as in Germany. The nights before and on the night of 11 November, children walk in processions carrying lanterns, which they made in school, and sing Martin songs. Martinloben is celebrated as a collective festival. Events include art exhibitions, wine tastings, and live music. Martinigansl (roasted goose) is the traditional dish of the season.

In the Netherlands, on the evening of 11 November, children went door to door with lanterns made of hollowed out sugar beet. This has been replaced by paper lanterns, usually crafted by themselves. They sing songs such as "Sinte(re) Sinte(re) Maarten", to receive sweets or fruit in return. In the past, poor people would visit farms on 11 November to get food for the winter. In the 1600s, the city of Amsterdam held boat races on the IJ, where 400 to 500 light craft, both rowing boats and sailboats, took part with a vast crowd on the banks. St Martin is the patron saint of the city of Utrecht, and St Martin's Day is celebrated there with a big lantern parade. In Flanders, the Dutch speaking part of Belgium, St Martin's Eve is celebrated on the evening of 10 November, mainly in West Flanders and around Ypres. Children go through the streets with paper lanterns and candles, and sing songs about St Martin. Sometimes, a man dressed as St Martin rides on a horse in front of the procession. The children receive presents from either their friends or family as supposedly coming from St Martin. In some areas, there is a traditional goose meal. In Wervik, children go from door to door, singing traditional "Séngmarténg" songs, sporting a hollow beetroot with a carved face and a candle inside called "Bolle Séngmarténg"; they gather at an evening bonfire. At the end the beetroots are thrown into the fire, and pancakes are served.

Martinmas was widely celebrated on 11 November in medieval and early modern England. In his study "Medieval English Martinmesse: The Archaeology of a Forgotten Festival", Martin Walsh describes Martinmas as a festival marking the end of the harvest season and beginning of winter. In the Rhineland, the children also go from house to house with their lanterns, sing songs and get candy in return. The origin of the procession of lanterns is unclear. To some, it is a substitute for the Martinmas bonfire, which is still lit in a few cities and villages throughout Europe. It formerly symbolized the light that holiness brings to the darkness, just as St Martin brought hope to the poor through his good deeds. Even though the bonfire tradition is gradually being lost, the procession of lanterns is still practiced. A Martinsgans ("St. Martin's goose") is typically served on St. Martin's Eve following the procession of lanterns. "Martinsgans" is usually served in restaurants, roasted, with red cabbage and dumplings. Many German restaurants feature a traditional menu with goose and Glühwein (a mulled red wine). St Paul, Minnesota celebrates with a traditional lantern procession around Rice Park. The evening includes German treats and traditions that highlight the season of giving. In Dayton, Ohio the Dayton Liederkranz Turner organization hosts a St Martin's Family Celebration on the weekend before with an evening lantern parade to the singing of St Martin's carols, followed by a bonfire.

St Martin's Day (Mortensdag), November 11th, and St Martin's Eve (Mortensaften), November 10th, was an early autumn feast in Denmark. Eating St Martin's goose (mortensgås) St Martin's Eve was a well known custom in Denmark in the 18th century. This is known from a dietary regulation from a hospital in Lolland, which dictates roast goose every Shrove Tuesday. The oldest known Danish source is from 1616. Today, the goose is often replaced by duck.

St Martin's Day or St Martin's Eve (Mårtensafton) was an important medieval autumn feast in Sweden. In early November, geese are ready for slaughter, and on St Martin's Eve it is tradition to have a roast goose dinner. The custom is particularly popular in Scania in southern Sweden, where goose farming has long been practised, but it has gradually spread northwards. A proper goose dinner also includes svartsoppa (a heavily spiced soup made from geese blood) and apple charlotte.

In Croatia, St. Martin's Day (Martinje, Martinovanje) marks the day when the must traditionally turns to wine. The must is usually considered impure and sinful, until it is baptised and turned into wine. The baptism is performed by someone who dresses up as a bishop and blesses the wine; this is usually done by the host. Another person is chosen as the godfather of the wine.

A Czech proverb connected with the Feast of St. Martin – Martin přijíždí na bílém koni (transl. "Martin is coming on a white horse") – signifies that the first half of November in the Czech Republic is the time when it often starts to snow. St. Martin's Day is the traditional feast day in the run up to Advent. Restaurants often serve roast goose as well as young wine from the recent harvest known as Svatomartinské víno, which is similar to Beaujolais nouveau as the first wine of the season. Wine shops and restaurants around Prague pour the first of the St. Martin's wines at 11:11 a. m. Many restaurants offer special menus for the day, featuring the traditional roast goose. Many people bake special St. Martin rolls in a shape of a horseshoe filled with nuts or poppy seeds (Svatomartinské rohlíčky). Children walk in processions carrying lanterns.

In Poland, 11 November is National Independence Day. St. Martin's Day (Dzień Świętego Marcina) is celebrated mainly in the city of Poznań where its citizens buy and eat considerable amounts of croissants filled with almond paste with white poppy seeds, the Rogal świętomarciński or St. Martin's Croissants. Legend has it that this centuries old tradition commemorates a Poznań baker's dream which had the saint entering the city on a white horse that lost its golden horseshoe. The next morning, the baker whipped up horseshoe shaped croissants filled with almonds, white poppy seeds and nuts, and gave them to the poor. In recent years, competition amongst local patisseries has become fierce. The product is registered under the European Union Protected Designation of Origin and only a limited number of bakers hold an official certificate. Poznanians celebrate the festival with concerts, parades and a fireworks show on Saint Martin's Street. Goose meat dishes are also eaten during the holiday.

The biggest event in Slovenia is the St. Martin's Day celebration in Maribor which marks the symbolic winding up of all the wine growers’ endeavours. There is the ceremonial "christening" of the new wine, and the arrival of the Wine Queen. The square Trg Leona Štuklja is filled with musicians and stalls offering autumn produce and delicacies.

In some parts Also in Ireland, no wheel of any kind was to turn on St. Martin's Day, because Martin was said by some people

In Welsh mythology the day is associated with the Cŵn Annwn, the spectral hounds who escort souls to the otherworld (Annwn). St Martin's Day was one of the few nights the hounds would engage in a Wild Hunt, stalking the land for criminals and villains. The supernatural character of the day in Welsh culture is evident in the number omens associated with it. Marie Trevelyan recorded that if the hooting of an owl was heard on St Martin's Day it was seen as a bad omen for that district. If a meteor was seen, then there would be trouble for the whole nation.

Mārtiņi (Martin's) is traditionally celebrated by Latvians on 10 November, marking the end of the preparations for winter, such as salting meat and fish, storing the harvest and making preserves. Mārtiņi also marks the beginning of masquerading and sledding, among other winter activities.

In Sicily, November is the winemaking season. On the day Sicilians eat anise, hard biscuits dipped into Moscato, Malvasia or Passito. l'Estate di San Martino (Saint Martin's Summer) is the traditional reference to a period of unseasonably warm weather in early to mid November, possibly shared with the Normans (who founded the Kingdom of Sicily) as common in at least late English folklore. The day is celebrated in a special way in a village near Messina and at a monastery dedicated to Saint Martin overlooking Palermo beyond Monreale. Other places in Sicily mark the day by eating fava beans.

Pieter Bruegel the Elder's physically largest painting is The Wine of Saint Martin's Day, which depicts the saint giving charity. There is a closely similar painting by Peeter Baltens, which can be seen here.