Sint Maarten

Last week was Sint Maarten. It’s where the children go door to door singing songs in return for sweets. Miss A spent weeks making her lantern at school. They even had a few practice runs, they went to the ‘big school’ and sang songs in return for fruit.

Miss A’s lantern

Miss A and I practiced all her songs over and over again until we had a handful that she knew.

We got together with some other, more experienced children and off we went. I was unsure how optimistic I should be, do we give her a small paper bag? A huge shopping bag? A backpack?

In the end, we brought her library bag (hidden in my handbag so we didn’t look greedy). Miss A was a bit hesitant at first, but once she worked it out, there was no stopping her. Her pockets were full after 3 houses!

Collecting her goodies

It was so lovely, all the neighbours got involved and all throughout the neighbourhood you could hear kids singing.

Click here for Miss A and her mates singing Sint Maarten Liedjes

Wikipedia:
St. Martin’s Day, also known as the Feast of St. Martin, Martinstag or Martinmas, the Feast of St Martin of Tours or Martin le Miséricordieux, is a time for feasting celebrations. This is the time when autumn wheat seeding was completed, and the annual slaughter of fattened cattle produced “Martinmas beef”. Historically, hiring fairs were held where farm laborers would seek new posts.
November 11 is the feast day of St. Martin of Tours, who started out as a Roman soldier. He was baptized as an adult and became a monk. It is understood that he was a kind man who led a quiet and simple life. The most famous legend of his life is that he once cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm, to save the beggar from dying from the cold. That night he dreamed that Jesus was wearing the half-cloak. Martin heard Jesus say to the angels: “Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is not baptised; he has clothed me.”

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