Source: https://www.kalendarzrolnikow.pl/659/tradycje-i-obyczaje-na-sw-marcina
Goose and croissants (rogaliki) for St. Martin – where did these traditions come from?
11 November is the National Independence Day, but also the memory of St. Martin. This day, especially in Wielkopolska, is associated with a very interesting tradition of preparing geese and baking Martinique croissants. So let’s see where these habits came from.
About St. Martin
St Martin (St. Marcin in Polish) was the son of a Roman legionnaire, and when he grew up he also became a soldier. It is from this period of his life that the most famous story about him comes. St. Marcin was supposed to meet a poor man who was almost naked. So he shared the soldier’s coat with him. That is why he became the patron saint of the poor and soldiers. Another story about St. Marcin proclaims that when they wanted to make him a bishop, he refused to do so. He hid from the pope’s envoy, but his hiding place was betrayed by a goose gagging. For the issue of St. Martin’s people, geese are punished to this day … It is from this story that the custom of roasting geese on 11 November comes from. The feast in his honor was established in the middle of the 7th century, on 11 November (the date of his burial). A basilica was erected over his grave in Tours, to which crowds of pilgrims soon began to draw. In France, there are 3,670 parishes dedicated to St. Martin, and in Poland – 196.
The best goose meat for Saint Martin
It was customary for Saint Martin to take fat geese to the court, to the monastery and to the church, because in the late autumn the geese are the fattest and most plump. Some villages organized on St. Marcin’s competition for the most magnificent goose. Flocks of wild geese, departing in autumn to warm countries, were called “the birds of St. Martin”or “St. Martin”.
And does St. Martin’s Day look?
On this day, in Wielkopolska, as well as in the Silesian Voivodeship and others, goose is traditionally baked and eaten with Martin’s croissants, and Marcinian parades and competitions are organised. In Poznań, on St. Martin, on the street of this saint, a festival is held under the name of St. Martin’s street name. It is a day of fun and joy.
A procession is formed through villages and cities, led by a rider dressed as a knight in the image of St. Marcin, followed by children dressed as beggars and the rest of the children with their parents. Children carry flashlights or Advent lanterns, staging a scene from the life of Saint Martin. For example, in the parish of Koty, in the Pabianice village council, there are competitions for: “The most beautiful Advent lantern”, culinary contests: for the most delicious baked goose, or for the largest baked croissant, and many others. At the end, all participants are offered traditional croissants.
St. Martin croissants
On St. Martin’s Day it is also customary to bake croissants of various sizes, stuffed with poppy seeds, marzipan, hazelnuts or jam. Croissants can be made of yeast or shortcrust dough. Earlier on that day, girls would give their chosen ones plump croissants. Martin’s croissants imitate the horseshoes of the horse of St. Martin. The custom of baking good-looking croissants has fortunately survived to this day and is practiced in Greater Poland and Silesia, especially in Poznań, Koty, Jaworze and Pabianice.
Saint Martin’s Day was considered to be a harbinger of winter, and these are some examples of proverbs:
- Winter begins with Saint Martin.
- When the snow begins to sprinkle on Saint Martin, winter begins.
- If frost on St. Marcin, it will be a tough winter.
- When Marcin rides a white horse, he will bring light winter.
- When the leaves do not fall before St. Marcin’s Day, they foretell a cold winter.
- If St. Marcin’s Day is with clouds, an unstable winter lies ahead.
- On Saint Marcin’s Day if it is rain or clouds, there will be unstable and gloomy times, and the bright weather on that day means frosts – a bit of comfort.
Goose recipe
Ingredients:
1 goose
salt pepper,
2 packets of dried marjoram,
3 sour apples,
a few prunes,
2 handfuls of dried cranberries.
Wash, clean and dry the goose. Rub with salt, pepper and marjoram (also inside). Set aside preferably for 12 hours. Peel the apples and remove the core – put the goose inside, add the prunes and cranberries.
Bake the goose, covered, in an oven preheated to 160 degrees Celsius (each kilogram of meat is about 45 minutes of baking), baste the goose from time to time with the melted fat, at the end of baking remove the cover to crispen the skin.
… and pumpki soup makes a great starter
Pumpkin cream soup
Ingredients:
1 kg of seedless pumpkin,
½ cube of butter,
2 onions,
a head of garlic,
1 mascarpone cheese,
broth,
1 teaspoon of basil,
oregano,
salt to taste.
Preparation:
Dissolve the butter in a pan, add the peeled, chopped onion and garlic, fry until golden brown. Add the chopped pumpkin and cook until tender. Blend everything with a blender. After mixing, while still boiling, add the broth, mascarpone cheese, basil and oregano.
