Today is St Martins Day! He was a knight in Roman times. He was riding his horse when he saw a beggar at the side of the road. The beggar was freezing cold, so St. Martin cut his cloak in two with his sword, and shared it with him. St. Martin's Day is celebrated on 11 November. It’s also traditionally the time when autumn sowing of seeds is finished and cattle were slaughtered before they needed to eat winter hay - the meat was 'Martinmas beef'. In Germany (EVEHD connection) there is a lantern parade in many towns and villages on St Martins Day. In the procession, a man dresses up as St. Martin and rides along on a horse. After the procession, people eat a 'Weckmann' and a cup of hot chocolate, standing around a big bonfire. A Weckmann is a sweet bread loaf, in the shape of a man, with raisins for eyes and usually a white clay pipe in his mouth. When evening comes, children go and sing songs from door to door and get rewarded with sweets and other treats! In Scandinavia people eat goose to celebrate St Martin's Day.
It is also VETERANS DAY - "“He was a brave fighter, knew his obligation to the poor, shared his goods, performed his required military service, followed legitimate orders, and respected secular authority.” - this day was chosen because of the link to the Saint.
On this day, it’s good to remember Dr Martin Luther King. He was a fighter for civil rights and racial equality in the USA. When much of Europe is being so un-Christian and mean-spirited about the plight of Syrian refugees, we do well to celebrate the Life of Martin Luther King who was assassinated on April 4th 1968..... and try to be more accepting and generous. Listen to his freedom speech....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vDWWy4CMhE
Martin David Clark
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