Dia de São Martinho
Happy St Martin’s Day!!🎉🌰
Today is November 11th, so here in Lisbon, we’re celebrating St Martin’s Day!St Martin’s Day is a very important national day in Portugal. Many different types of celebrations take place in different regions of Portugal during the time around St Martin’s Day and on the day itself.
The Story of St Martin’s Day 📖
The story of St Martin’s Day dates back centuries. According to tradition, St Martin’s Day began when a Roman soldier called Martin was on his way to his homeland. On his journey, there was a huge storm. Martin walked past a homeless man who was freezing cold. When Martin saw the man, he cut his cloak in half with his sword and gave a part of the cloak to the homeless man. Further along the road, Martin saw another homeless person, who he gave the other half of his cloak to.
Later that night, Martin had a vision of Jesus Christ, wearing a part of his cloak. According to the story, in the vision, Jesus Christ said to the angels, ‘Here is Martin, the Roman soldier who is now baptised; he has clothed me.’ The rainstorm then cleared and the sun came out.
According to tradition, the sun coming out is seen as a gift from God. Furthermore, the weather in November, being a month in Portugal that tends to be nice and sunny, as we are experiencing in Lisbon currently, is attributed to the story. November is known as “Summer of São Martinho”.
St Martin’s Day in present day
Now, a huge part of St Martin’s Day celebrations are chestnuts and wine. This is because November 11th is seen as the day when wine is mature and ready to be tasted. In addition, according to studies, ancestral activities to celebrate the day included the tradition of magusto. During a magusto festival, bonfires were made for chestnuts to be roasted. According to tradition, in a region in Portugal called Barqueiros, tables were prepared with chestnuts for the family members who had passed away to eat.
Around the streets in Lisbon, you can see how traditional chestnuts are to Portuguese culture. Even during times outside of St Martin’s Day, chestnuts are burned and sold outside on the streets. 🌰🔥
Some types of wine traditional to drink during St Martin’s Day include:
Aqua foot. This an option that doesn’t have a large alcohol content. To make this drink, water is added to grape pomace.
New wine. This wine is known as being one of the freshest types of wine because it is meant to be made from the latest harvest of grapes. According to many sources, Central Portugal is where the highest quality of wine is harvested from because of the good weather allowing grapes to grow.
Jeropiga. To make this wine, wine spirit is added to grape must, and then the mixture is fermented.
How St Martin’s Day is celebrated in different regions of Portugal🎊
There are many different ways in which St Martin’s Day is celebrated in different areas of Portugal:
In Gafanha da Nazaré, the city council runs a festival called ‘Between songs and chestnuts.’ This festival is made primarily for elderly people to come together, socialise and celebrate the day.
In Moimenta da Beira, the day is celebrated through hosting a municipal market. One of the traditional things sold at the market is skewers with pork and chestnuts. Jeropiga is very popular at this market! 🍷
In Mortágua, a fair takes place called the 10th Chestnut and Other Regional Products Fair. The fair celebrates Portuguese traditional food, regional products are sold, and of course, magustos take place. 🔥
Pombal has a 4 day festival to celebrate St Martin's Day. This festival has a whole range of activities taking place, such as meditation, yoga, poetry readings, traditional costume shows and marches in the street.
Torres Vedras has many festivals around the time of St Martin’s Day, such as a bean and wine pastel festival.