*Ø* Blogmanac November 11 | St Martin's Day (Martinmas)

If the geese at Martin’s day stand on ice, they will walk in mud at Christmas.
English traditional proverb

If All Saints’ Day will bring out the winter, St Martin’s Day will bring out Indian summer.
American traditional proverb

If ducks do slide at Hollantide
At Christmas they will swim.
If ducks do swim at Hollantide
At Christmas they will slide.
Winter is on his way
At St Martin’s Day.
English traditional proverb. Hollantide is Martinmas.

At St Martin’s Day
Winter is on his way.
French traditional proverb

‘Tween Martinmas and Yule
Water’s wine in every pool.
Scotch traditional proverb

Wind north-west at Martinmas, severe winter to come.
English (Huntingdonshire) traditional proverb

Martinmas
Martinmas, or the feast day of St Martin, was in Europe the time of year for tasting the new season’s wine and for the killing of meat for Winter eating. Because of the christianisation of the Greek day of Dionysus, god of wine, also around November 11, the saint is closely associated with drinking, hence the expression Martin drunk. As fat geese were plentiful, on ancient clog almanacs the day was marked with the image of a goose. In Europe, today was the day for eating goose, but in Britain the day was Michaelmas (September 29).

As recorded by Bonnie Blackburn and Leofranc Holford-Strevens (Oxford Companion to the Year, Oxford University Press, 1999), the breast bone of a goose that is eaten on the Feast of St Martin can be used as part of a weather prognostication. After the meat is eaten off it, the breast-bone is examined. If the bone is fair and clear, winter is likely to be cold and full of hard frosts. A thick and dark bone indicates that the winter will be full of snow, rain and sleet, although warmer in temperature.

Martin and the goose
One day Martin was lecturing the folks in a village about their sinful ways and a goose started honking so loudly that it interfered with his speech. Not to be outdone, the good priest ordered the goose slaughtered, and then finished his sermon. Afterward the goose was cooked and served to him. St Martin choked to death eating the goose.

The associated precept from the Christian tradition teaches us to be very careful about how we treat our critics.

St Martin’s Day
In the European tradition, today marks the onset of Winter. In earlier days that distinction was given to October 31, or Halloween (originally called by the Celts Samhain), but in 1752 the calendar was altered by a few days. Today was also called ‘Tear-Stomach Day’.

Mart
In Scotland and the north of England, a fat ox used to be called a mart, because St Martin’s Day was the day to kill cattle for winter food.



More at the Scriptorium's page on St Martin's Day