St.Martin’s Day was celebrated Thursday evening at the school.
First the story of St.Martin was told to the families inside the school. Then the families went outside to see the circle of all the school children. The children carried lanterns they’d made and gathered in a circle to sing. There were candles along the stairs and paths to light the darkness.
“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.”
Five years ago I attended another St.Martins Day in Berlin. Here’s that post
What a lovely thing for the children, Ruth! Here St. Martin’s Day is associated with roast chestnuts.
Thank you Jo. After three years I’m with my family in Zagreb. It was a moving celebration in the darkness, hearing the children singing as the carried their lanterns
Did you eat rogal świętomarciński?
We ate a special hard cookie not too sweet. The children baked them. No poppy almond filling except in the stollen at home
Beautiful celebration
One of my favorite festivals when our children were in school. Winter is coming and it’s a wonderful transition to shorter and darker days while the parade of lanterns and song guide you through the natural change of seasons….. lovely. Enjoy
I had never heard of St Martin’s Day until now. Seems like a lovely festival.