Guest Author - Holly Fox

Fall has begun, we’ve turned our clocks back, and the sky is already dark by late afternoon. A procession of children carrying glowing lanterns on long sticks sing, “Ich geh’ mit meiner Laterne, und meine Laterne mit mir. Dort oben leuchten die Sterne, und unten leuchten wir. Mein Licht ist aus, ich geh’ nach Haus. Rabimmel, rabammel, rabum." (I’m walking with my lantern, and my lantern comes with me. Up there the stars are shining, and we’re shining down here. My light is out, I’m going home. Rabimmel, rabammel, rabum.)

In early November, German children begin these processions, which celebrate the feast day of Martin of Tours. On the actual feast day, November 11th, families might attend a special church service where they hear the story of St. Martin and sing more songs. They then go on one last procession led by a man dressed as a Roman soldier on a white horse.

St. Martin was the bishop of Tours and lived in the 4th century. Originally a soldier in the Roman army, St. Martin met a shivering beggar in Amiens and gave him half of his cloak. That evening Jesus appeared to him in a dream wearing the half cloak. He then decided to be baptized and two years later committed his life to the church.

Another story is that when he was chosen to become the next bishop of Tours, a hesitant St. Martin hid in a goose house. The cackling geese, however, gave away his hiding spot and he agreed to the job. Some stories suggest that to punish the geese, he immediately killed one of them for that evening’s dinner. Roast goose is the traditional St. Martin’s day meal across Catholic Germany. Although St. Martins Day is celebrated in the traditionally Protestant parts of Germany as well, the day is notably more important as a Catholic holiday. In the Rhineland the lantern procession even takes on a certain Halloween feel as children go from house to house singing and receive sweetened, bishop-shaped bread rolls with raisin eyes and buttons.

November 11th is also the official beginning of the new Carnival session across western and southern Germany and traditionally the day to pay one’s tithes. These tithes could also be paid to the church in geese. St. Martin is unique in that he is the first saint that was not martyred. So the celebration of St. Martin’s day has no gloomy overtones, only shining lanterns, children singing, and treats to eat on the way.