Dr. HF made a lantern for William at his Kindergarten!
Saint Martin of Tours (France) was a Roman soldier in the 4th century who was later baptized and became a monk. There are many legends about St. Martin. He is celebrated for his generosity and kindness. On one dark, snowy, freezing cold night St. Martin saw a homeless man who was freezing in the snow. St. Martin took his sword out and cut his thick, red, cape-like coat in two. He kept one half for himself because he also had nowhere to go that night, but the other half he gave to the homeless man and saved his life.
Because of his exemplary life, St. Martin was appointed Bishop of Tours. St. Martin didn't want to be Bishop! So, that night he hid in a barn with some geese. The people of Tours searched for St. Martin with their lanterns until the geese gave him away, alerting the people with their loud honking. On St. Martin's day, the search for this reluctant Bishop is reenacted by the children with a parade of lanterns after dark. There are, of course, several St. Martin's day songs for the occasion! I know three, but there are more. The traditional food is goose, or sweet breads in the shape of a goose. ( Stupid me! I asked for a "duck" at the bakery... but since at first I thought it was a dinosaur, I guess I wasn't as far off as I could have been!)
As I was doing my research for this post, I noticed that St. Martin's day is celebrated in lots of places...including Philadelphia and Indianapolis!
Below is a link to an article about the St. Martins day festivities in Indianapolis!
http://m.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071028/LIFESTYLE/710280318/1024/LIFESTYLE&template=wapart
Neighborhood girls with their lanterns.
Wm and his lantern, ready to go on parade!
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