4409 Saint Martin VEDES !

[cachalote]

we also have a "são martinho" in portugal, the same as saint martin, also with november 11th as his day.
it is traditionally linked with the production of wine and the eating of roasted chestnuts.
when the weather is hot, we call it the saint martin summer.
nobody here knows his story, though.
the pagan parties just have a tendency to overcome the meaning of the saint that overlaps them.
it seems that in germany this is not so.
thanks again little jo.
 

[playmofire]

In the UK, St Martin's day is also 11th November.  It was a time for fairs (the buying and selling type, not funfairs) and the time when farmworkers were hired for the coming year and, in mediaeval times, when the cattle were slaughtered and the meat slated to preserve it through the winter.