nov 11. In some parts of the Netherlands the children celebrate St. Maarten.( it comes from the Holy Saint Maarten who shared his belongings with the poor) Around time:18.00 they go with their little lamps , they sing a special song and ask for a treat, some candy or fruit. A kind like trick or treat, but not in costume. So I hope every child that goes for the St. Maarten walk, will have a lovely time, and a full bag with gathered candy and fruit.

Sounds wonderful! I like the singing part. caroling was one of my favorite holiday activity.

That's much nicer than the precepts behind our Trick or Treat, although children are rarely aware of the reason, they just know that they get candy. ;)

seems to be a nice tradition. Don't have it here in Belgium

1 comment

by mops 11 Nov 2013

It is celebrated in certain parts of the country, I had never heard of it before I came to live in the north of the Netherlands.

Thank you for sharing this. It is so nice to hear of other places and the traditions. This is one of the many things I love about Cute!

Thanks for sharing this. I enjoy hearing about the traditions in other countries. And this is a lovely tradition.

We have St. Martin here too (but without collecting sweets). At 5pm we start with the march with the lamps and singing, at the end there is a big fire and every child gets a St. Martin's pretzel. The kindergarten sells hot spiced wine (with and without alcohol!) and it is alwas nice.
Greetings, Bettina
PS: Old pics from our fire with Anna and Felix with me at is first St. Martin :o)

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2 comments

by gerryvb 11 Nov 2013

lovely, thanks for sharing!

by jrob edited 11 Nov 2013

Thanks, lovely lamps.