Saint Martin's Day or Martinmas (obsolete: Martlemas),[1][2] and historically called Old Halloween[A] or Old Hallowmas Eve,[B][3][4] 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[5] 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.
- ^ "C. T. Onions, A Shakespeare Glossary, Martlemas".
- ^ "Martlemas". webster's 1913. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
- ^ Bulik, Mark (1 January 2015). The Sons of Molly Maguire: The Irish Roots of America's First Labor War. Fordham University Press. p. 43. ISBN 9780823262243.
- ^ Carlyle, Thomas (11 November 2010). The Works of Thomas Carlyle. Cambridge University Press. p. 356. ISBN 9781108022354.
- ^ George C. Homans, English Villagers of the Thirteenth Century, 2nd ed. 1991, "The Husbandman's year" p355f.
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