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EveryParampara

Next: 11 Nov 2026

St Martin's Day

Lantern processions of children, goose dinners and the first taste of the year's new wine.

St. Martin's Day: painting by Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Photo: Pieter Brueghel the Elder, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

When is St Martin's Day in 2026?

St Martin's Day 2026 is on Wednesday, 11 November 2026. Other years: 2027, Thursday, 11 November 2027; 2028, Saturday, 11 November 2028.

About St Martin's Day

St Martin's Day, 11 November, honours Martin of Tours, the fourth-century Roman soldier who is said to have cut his cloak in two to share with a beggar. In Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and Belgium, children make paper lanterns and walk in processions at dusk, singing songs of Martin, sometimes led by a rider dressed as the saint on a white horse, and finishing with a bonfire and sweet pastries, such as Weckmänner, yeast-dough men with a clay pipe, and Stutenkerl. A feast of roast goose with red cabbage and dumplings is eaten. In wine-growing areas, the new wine is opened and tasted on this day, and Hungary and Croatia have their own "Martinje". In Poland, the day is the National Independence Day, with rogal świętomarciński, croissants.

St Martin's Day dates: 2026, 2027, 2028

YearSt Martin's Day date
2026Wednesday, 11 November 2026
2027Thursday, 11 November 2027
2028Saturday, 11 November 2028

What is eaten

  • roast goose
  • Weckmann
  • red cabbage
  • new wine

Also part of it, and being written: Martin of Tours (The saint honoured.), Martinmas (The English name.), Rogal świętomarciński (The Poznań croissant.).

More marked on St Martin's Day

🇩🇪 Germany and 7 moreSt. Martin's DayMartinstag A November feast of lantern walks, bonfires, roast goose and new wineSpiritual 🇸🇮 Ptuj, Slovenia and 1 moreKurentovanje A rite of spring and carnival in Ptuj with masked bell-ringers chasing winter awayFestival
About this page

Written by the EveryParampara desk with AI assistance. Background: "Saint Martin's Day" on Wikipedia. Customs differ from place to place and family to family. If this is your tradition and we have it wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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Every week: one tradition from somewhere new, what is being celebrated around the world this week, and one idea explained.