On 11 November Christians commemorate Martin of Tours, a Roman soldier who became canonized after his death in 397 A.D. He is best remembered for cutting his coat in half with his sword and giving one half to a beggar who was clad only in rags in the middle of winter. (Aside: as a child I always felt this was an asinine deed as half a coat doesn’t help anyone with one sleeve each; when I learned later that a coat then was rather like a cloak I still felt that he could have parted with the whole thing).

In German speaking areas he is commemorated in various ways, like eating a fat goose (Martinsgans), drinking the first new wine of the season, and children collecting sweets in the neighbourhood (similar to trick or treating). But in our area it is mostly by nighttime processions of children with paper lanterns singing songs. In slightly bigger towns a horse with a rider dressed as a Roman soldier leads the procession and marching bands accompany the children. (Another aside: we had St. Martin’s processions in Johannesburg, South Africa, as well as in Harare, Zimbabwe.)

Although lanterns can be bought, they are still crafted by the children themselves (or their parents) and there are certain techniques that are learned on how to make the lantern itself (construction paper and round camembert boxes), how to make ordinary paper see-through and colourful (with crayons), how to attach the wire to the lantern and the stick for carrying to the wire. It used to be also important to know the technique on how to fix the candle in the middle to make sure that the lantern was lit but did not ignite (one whole song is sung about this calamity) but these days a candle is considered far too dangerous for children and they all have battery powered LED lights inserted.

Double dipping for FOWC with Fandango: Technique and Ragtag Daily Prompt: Commemorate

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