Even though the darkness already fell, the light from lanterns, candles and torches were illuminating the Baltic Barracks. The voices of children and adults were resounding through the air. This way the whole families from the Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast celebrated the Saint Martin’s Day on November 13th, 2008.
"Lantern, lantern, sun, moon, and stars. . . "
It is a common tradition among the personnel of the Headquarters Multinational Corps Northeast (HQ MNC NE) to celebrate events typical to given nations. It is a perfect opportunity not only to meet and have a nice chat together, but also to exchange views on cultures of different countries and to learn traditions cherished elsewhere. It raises the cultural awareness of every single member of the HQ MNC NE, regardless of his or her age.
The activities of the Ladies’ Club, an organisation uniting spouses of soldiers serving at the Headquarters, follow this direction. The celebrations of the Saint Martin’s Day took place on its initiative. “The Club wants to show traditions of different countries and organises events, like Polish Saint Andrew’s Day, Midsummer Party typical to the Baltic States or German Saint Martin’s Day”, explains Mrs Christina Stolp. “It is a fantastic way to keep the families, especially the new ones, together. They get to know each other in a different sphere than work”. The preparations for the Saint Martin’s Day started already a week prior to the event when the children from different nations met to make the lanterns that would illuminate their march on the Saint Martin’s Day.
Typically, the Saint Martin’s Day is celebrated on November 11th. It is especially fun for children as they can promenade with handmade lanterns through the streets. The Day honours Martin of Tours, who lived in the 1st Century. He was a Roman soldier who was baptized as an adult and became a bishop. The most famous legend refers to his generosity and good heart. Once, he met a scantily clothed beggar who was freezing cold. He cut his cloak in half to share it with the man. That night Martin dreamed that Jesus was wearing this half of cloak he had given away. This made him leave the military service, baptize himself and start missionary work. The lights and torches carried on that day refer to another legend according to which a modest Martin did not feel himself worthy to become bishop so he hid in a stable filled with geese. The people were looking for him and lightened their way with lanterns and tourches. When they found him, he was selected a bishop. This legend also explains why it is a common tradition to eat geese on that day.
As a matter of fact, the Saint Martin’s Day is celebrated not only in Germany. It can be found in the calendars of other countries including the Corps’ nations like the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia or Poland. In each country the tradition may vary. For example in Poland, the Saint Martin’s Day is celebrated in the Greater Poland region where Poznań is located. It is typical to eat considerable amounts of specially made croissants called St. Martin croissants that day. In the Czech Republic there is even a saying related to that event: “Martin is coming on the white horse”, which indicates the autumn time when it often starts to snow.
