Germany - Event

Düsseldorf remembers Saint Martin and a certain incident with a coat and a beggar with a lantern-lit procession during the St Martin's Festival. The traditional dish of Martinsgans, or roast goose, is available to warm up revellers.

Legend has it that Martin - in his pre-canonisation days - was a humble Roman centurion passing through the area. He gave his coat to a beggar, thereby proving his mettle as a Saint.

At nightfall a procession of children with lanterns winds its way through the city to admire a re-enactment of the donation of the coat (performed on a rather larger scale than the original act).