St. Martin's Umzug

At Our First St. Martin's Parade in 2024

We only expected around 50 people but over 225 showed up. A great turnout for our first St. Martin’s Umzug. We had no idea people loved this tradition so much.

We provided Glühwein and Gulaschsuppe, made by Ines, as well as some sweet bread that was donated by Pfeiffers.

Constanze Heitkoetter, our GIS director, and Pearl Gardner, GIS 1st-3rd grade teacher together with her boyfriend Nico, reenacted the St. Martin’s play. 

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Needless to say, we'll have another St. Martin's Parade in 2025!

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Since we'll provide food and drinks again we ask you to please buy tickets in advance so we can plan ahead.

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Who was Saint Martin?

The story of a saint Martin (lat. Martinus) was born around 316 or 317 in Savaria, today’s Szombathely in Hungary, as the son of a pagan Roman military tribune. He came into contact with Christianity in Pavia, his father’s hometown in northern Italy. At the age of 10, Martin was accepted into the circle of catechumens, the candidates for baptism. Martin’s path in life was largely predetermined by his ancestry.

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Roman soldier and soldier of Christ 

As the son of a Roman officer, Martin was obliged to serve in the military. At his father’s request, he joined a Roman cavalry unit at the age of 15. Martin and his unit were ordered to Gaul, today’s France, where the Roman army was fighting against the Alemanni. During this time, his Christian faith was strengthened and deepened. Immediately before a battle against the Germanic tribes, Martin, who was now a Roman officer, refused to serve in the army. Instead, he asked to be released from military service on the grounds that he was no longer a soldier of the Roman emperor, but from now on a soldier of Christ. But Emperor Julian rejected his request for release - Martin was only released in 356 after 25 years of military service at the age of 40.

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From soldier to priest

While still in military service, probably at the age of 18, Martin was baptized by Hilarius, the later Bishop of Poitiers. After his release from military service, he studied for a while under Bishop Hilarius and then retired to an island in the Gulf of Genoa as a hermit. In 360, Martin returned to Gaul and lived as a hermit in Ligugé near Poitiers. There he founded the Abbey of Ligugé in 361, the first monastery in the West. There he was ordained a priest.

 

Bishop of Tours

The ascetic monk Martin was known to the population and valued as an advisor and helper in times of need. When Bishop Lidorius of Tours died in 371, the citizens of Tours wanted Martin as his successor. He, on the other hand, did not want to become bishop and hid in a goose pen. According to legend, the cackling geese gave away the hiding place and Martin was appointed Bishop of Tours in 372. He went down in the annals as Bishop Martin of Tours and later became famous for his selfless acts of charity. Despite his high office, Martin continued to lead an ascetic life, for which he was revered and respected by the population. During his time as bishop, Martin undertook several missionary journeys and founded the Marmoutiers monastery. Several miraculous healings and miracles are also attributed to him. On November 8, 397, Martin of Tours died on one of his journeys in Candes. His body was brought to Tours on the Loire and buried on November 11 with great sympathy from the population.

 

Benefactor and saint

The life of Saint Martin is surrounded by legends and reports of good deeds, which mainly contributed to his veneration.

Alongside the legend of the cackling geese, the tradition of sharing the cloak is probably the best known and most popular legend of all. It goes back to the time when Martin served as a soldier in the Roman army.

In 334, when he was just 18 years old, Martin was stationed in Amiens as a guard officer. The events of this time are still associated with Saint Martin today.

 

The legend of sharing the cloak

In the middle of the bitter cold winter, the soldier Martin met a poor man at the city gate of Amiens. The beggar was defenseless against the cold, he had neither shoes nor warm clothing. Again and again he asked passers-by for help, but no one felt sorry for the poor man. Then Martin knew that he had to help the beggar. But the beggar had nothing with him except his soldier’s cloak and his sword. Without further ado, he took the sword and cut his warm coat in half. He gave one half to the beggar, who was full of gratitude for the warm coat. Martin tried to wrap himself in the remaining half of the coat. The surrounding soldiers mocked him and ridiculed Martin for his pitiful appearance. But Martin did not care about the mockery and contempt - he knew that he had done the right thing.

The following night, Martin had a dream. Jesus Christ appeared to him and he was wrapped in half of Martin’s coat. He thanked Martin for his kindness, selflessness and charity and said to the angels: “Look, this is the unbaptized catechumen Martin, he gave me the coat and performed the act of love.”

Martin recognized God’s goodness in his deed and was baptized to confirm his faith.

 

The good deeds of St. Martin

The story of the divided cloak is certainly the best-known legend of St. Martin, but it is not the only report of his many good deeds. Martin of Tours was highly respected by the people because of his modest and humble way of life. It is said that even as a bishop he lived in a simple cell, polished his own shoes and preferred a simple stool to the magnificent bishop’s chair. Miracles are also reported: he is said to have healed the sick and even brought the dead back to life.

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Canonization

At the time of Martin of Tours there was no canonical canonization; the people decided who was a saint based on their deeds. His successor Brictius had a chapel built on Martin’s grave, which quickly became the destination of many pilgrims. Starting in Tours, the veneration of St. Martin spread throughout Europe. Numerous churches were dedicated to Martin, and cities and castles were named after him. The Frankish king Clovis I (466-511) chose Martin of Tours as the national saint and patron of the Frankish-Merovingian kings and their people. St. Martin was the first saint who did not die as a martyr, but was venerated as a confessor. 

 

Today, St. Martin’s Day is still celebrated on November 11th with lantern processions, St. Martin’s songs and pastries. St. Martin’s Day is a mandatory memorial day of the Roman Catholic Church, but the Protestant and Anglican churches also commemorate St. Martin on this day. St. Martin’s Day is not a public holiday.

 

Patron saint

St. Martin is the patron saint of France and Slovakia, the Eichsfeld region of Thuringia, the Swiss canton of Schwyz, the Austrian Burgenland and numerous other cities. He is also the patron saint of many professions, including: A. of soldiers and cavalrymen, policemen, blacksmiths and weapon smiths, tailors and weavers as well as travellers, refugees and prisoners and of course beggars. Saint Martin is depicted either as a mounted soldier who shares his coat or as a bishop with geese.

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Customs

In many regions, St. Martin’s Day is associated with numerous customs and traditions and is above all a celebration for children. Kindergartens and primary schools in particular hold processions with St. Martin’s lanterns. The story of the coat sharing is often reenacted and St. Martin’s biscuits in the shape of geese are shared. Particularly in Catholic areas, St. Martin’s singing is a popular custom, in which children go from house to house with their lanterns and sing St. Martin’s songs. In return, they receive sweets or small gifts. The traditional St. Martin’s goose meal is also widespread. This tradition of the St. Martin’s goose goes back, among other things, to the legend that Martin hid in a goose pen because he did not want to become Bishop of Tours.

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