St. Martin’s Day: Netherlands’ Festival of Lights
Have you heard of Sint-Maarten? Every year, on the evening of November 11, small groups of children walk down the streets of Netherlands, Europe, singing and reciting poems, carrying DIY lanterns and a bag for sweets, which they collect from the neighbourhood. So what is this charming festival all about?
Who was Sint Maarten?
Saint Martin was a kind hearted Roman soldier. He cut his cloak in half to share it with a beggar caught in a snowstorm. That night, he dreamt that Jesus Christ was wearing the half cloak and telling angels that Martin has clothed him, and been baptised by that act. Martin later became the Bishop of a French town called Tours. Saint Martin died on November 8, 397, and was buried on November 11. Since he was particularly kind to kids, he is remembered on that day all over Europe.
How do people of Netherlands celebrate St. Martin’s Day?
While other countries also hold prayers and other festivities, Netherlands observes it as a children’s festival. Soon after sunset, children from the ages of 5 to 12 go door to door (often with parents) holding lanterns made of hollowed-out sugar beet or paper, singing songs about Sint Maarten, receiving cakes, candy or fruits from neighbours. This is also a reminder of an old harvest festival, where poor people visited farms to ask for food for the winter.
How do kids make St. Martin’s Day lanterns?
Traditionally, the lantern was made by placing a candle inside a hollowed out turnip or sugar beet tied to a stick, but now kids in Netherlands often make their own brightly decorated paper lamp versions at school. The lantern processions are known as keuvelen or ruusbuzen. Sometimes the procession ends in a bonfire, making it a small outdoor party for kids. St. Martin’s Day has some similarities to Halloween, but is an older and less commercialised festival.
What songs can the kids sing on Sint Maarten’s Day?
This probably started as a tradition of allowing impoverished children to beg for alms by singing about St. Martin, who was kind to strangers. Now there are no such rules, and sometimes kids make up their own songs, including funny ones.