Happy Veteran's Day & Martinstag

Happy Veteran's Day! I feel very blessed to be a spouse in the military and am very proud of Abe and his military career. I am grateful for all those who serve and have served. Abe's dad is a Vietnam veteran and I am grateful for both his and Margie's sacrifice. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for them! I also look at friends and aquaintances in the military that have sacrificed so much with their husbands having to deploy and be in harms way. So far, Abe has not had to deploy and I am so grateful for that.

In Germany today, they are celebrating Martinstag. The owners of our guesthouse have their parents living on the top floor of our guesthouse. The mom speaks very good English and she went and bought tickets for Norah and Adeline to participate in a little march to the town square with a bunch of other kids. All the kids will be holding their own lantern and walking to the town square together. She was sweet enough even to go and buy each of the girls their own lantern. Tomorrow night is when they do the actual celebration. Here is some background on Martinstag.

Martinstag - November 11
There is an old traditional German custom that has much in common with Halloween: Martinstag (St. Martin’s Day, Martinsmas). The Catholic Martinstag observance on November 11 includes costumes and a lantern procession for children. Also known as Martini in Austria and Bavaria, the feast day of Martin of Tours is celebrated in many parts of Europe, including even some Protestant regions. According to legend, Martin cut his red cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm. The traditional baked goose (Martinsgans) meal on Martinstag is based on another part of the legend. Feeling unworthy of becoming a bishop, Martin hid in a stable filled with geese. The noise made by the geese betrayed his location, and the people of Tours had him consecrated as a bishop.

In parts of Austria, Germany, and Switzerland the Martinstag observance is a children’s affair. Carrying paper lanterns they have made in school, the young children take part in an evening procession, sometimes led by a rider on a white horse, emulating St. Martin and his red cloak. Sometimes the lantern procession ends with a Martinsfeuer (bonfire).