St. Martin's Day and the Festival of Lanterns

A 4th Century Bishop's Life Still Celebrated Today in Germany

Dec 19, 2009 Michael Streich

The first canonized saint not associated with martyrdom, Martin of Tours left a legacy celebrated by children's lantern parades throughout Germany since the Middle Ages.

The tradition of children walking through German cities with lighted lanterns on the eve of St. Martin’s feast day (November 11), is traced to the early Middle Ages. Celebration of St. Martin’s was revived significantly in the 15th Century, perhaps accounting for the 16th Century parallels been St. Martin and the Protestant reformer, Martin Luther. Luther mythology also helps to explain why the often called “lantern festival” became popular in North Germany, which was predominantly Protestant.

St. Martin of Tours Life and Miracles

Born ca. 316 BCE in Pavia, Martin followed his father into military service for Rome, becoming a member of a cavalry unit. After being posted to Amiens in Gaul, Martin converted to Christianity. The conversion came after Martin cut his tunic in half, giving a part to a beggar. In a subsequent dream, Christ appeared to him, wearing the beggar’s tunic. According to mythology, at Martin’s conversion, a nimbus or shining aura appeared around his head. In the 16th Century, woodcuts and broadsheets depicting Martin Luther also displayed a nimbus, leading to suggestions of parallels between him and the saint; Luther was born November 10th and named for Martin of Tours.

Martin of Tours established the first Christian monastery in Gaul. His tireless efforts in working on behalf of the poor and converting pagan peoples to Christianity ultimately led to his appointment as Bishop of Poitiers, a promotion he resisted. Martin of Tours was also a strong voice against Arianism.

St. Martin’s appointment as bishop occurred in 371. According to legend, he fled and hid himself in a hut containing geese. The geese, however, convinced him that his place was as bishop. This story led to the roast goose that became a traditional favorite on November 11th. According to Protestant mythology, the tradition of eating roast goose and cabbage on St. Martin’s Day stems from Martin Luther’s visit to Nordhausen. Two separate tales have the reformer invited to feasts where roast goose was consumed.

Lanterns and “Laternen Lieder”

Laternen lieder are lantern songs. Throughout Germany the winter feast of St. Martin’s finds children and parents making lanterns to carry through the streets at night in large groups called “trains.” This lantern train associates light during the autumnal festival with Martin of Tours. One of the songs begins, “Holy Saint Martin was a good man; he gave the children candles and lit them by his own hand.” The Catholic nature of the festival was kept by Northern Protestants and the cause is again attributed to Martin Luther. While in Nordhausen, Luther lit candles on St. Martin’s Day and put them in the windows.

The lantern festival is often compared to American Halloween which comes ten days earlier. Like at Halloween, children often receive sweets and tiny pastries from people watching the parade of lanterns and hearing the many lantern songs. At least one German writer has pointed out that while American Halloween is highly commercial, St. Martin’s celebrations still point to a non-commercial message tied to giving to the poor.

One popular lantern song is called, “A Beggar sat in the Cold Snow,” and tells the story of St. Martin’s generosity. Most lantern songs – lieder, are more secular in nature, comparing the lantern’s light to the stars and the moon. Perhaps the most popular children’s song begins, “lantern, lantern, Sun and Moon and Stars.” [1] In the High Middle Ages, St. Martin’s Feast Day rivaled and competed with St. Nicholas’ Day on December 6th. Both pre-Christmas festivals point to common elements associated with Christmas such as light and giving.

St. Martin’s Day Endures in Germany

The November 21st 2009 edition of the German language Staats-Zeitung, published in New York for American German readers, contained six different articles on contemporary St. Martin’s celebrations in cities like Cologne and Dinslaken. One of the oldest traditions in Christian Europe, the train of lanterns is destined to endure with future generations.

[1] “Laterne, Laterne, Sonne, Mond und Sterne…”

Sources:

• John Delaney, Dictionary of Saints (Doubleday, 1980)
• R.W. Scribner, Popular Culture and Popular Movements in Reformation Germany (London: the Hambledon Press, 1987)
• Traude Walek-Doby, “How the Geese Made St. Martin a Bishop,” New Yorker Staats-Zeitung, Number 47, November 21, 2009.