Saint Martin’s mantel

The legend

Martin was a knight in the Roman army. One day he was in Amiens, France, and met a poor man in the street. It was very cold, but Martin did not have any blanket to offer him. Thus, he decided to cut half of his red mantel and give it to that man, that did not have anything thick to wear. Suddenly, the sun came out and the temperature raised. During the night Martin had a dream: Jesus visited him and brought him back the missing half of the mantel. In the morning, the mantel was complete/ entire again. Then, Martin decided to get baptised and he became Christian. 

The festival 

San Martin’s day is on 11th November. Autumn has already started, but often, around those days, the so called “Saint Martin’s summer” takes place. The sun comes out and the temperature becomes warmer, as the legend narrates. The saint is worshipped in many countries across Europe, and especially in Italy there are many local festivals dedicated to him. In this period, the ripening of the wine takes place as well, from which comes the saying “A san Martino ogni mosto diventa vino” (On Saint Martin’s day all the must becomes wine). In Venice and Padua it is typical to prepare “cavallo di San Martino” (Saint martin’s horse), a horse-shaped sweet, covered with chocolate and coloured candies.  

Tags: knight; saints; festivals; sweets; generosity.