I wasn't aware of St. Martin's Day celebrations until I moved to Europe. In Denmark the celebration is held the night before and is called Mortensaften, meaning Morten's Eve. (Morten is Danish for Martin.) It is custom to feast on goose or duck. For me it's the European Thanksgiving, but a much older tradition than the American Thanksgiving.
St Martin of Tours started out as a Roman soldier. He was baptized when he was grown up and became a monk. He was a very good and kind man, and eventually became the Bishop of Tours. As well as being kind, he was quiet and simple. He didn't want to become Bishop, but he didn't have much choice. There are many legends about his life. The most famous is when he cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar during a snowstorm, to save the beggar from dying of the cold. Another legend is about his trying to hide so as not to become Bishop. The story is that he hid in a stall in a barn, hoping to escape the people who were hunting for him. They had come to take him to be appointed Bishop. A flock of geese made a lot of noise and gave away his hiding place. The goose is the animal symbol of St Martin and a favorite food on Saint Martin's Day. Source http://funsocialstudies.learninghaven.com/articles/stmartins.htm
We don't celebrate Mortensaften exactly like every other Danish family. I put my own American twist on the holiday, but every year we do feast on duck breast. My favorite recipe for is from an old, and much loved cookbook I have from the 1980's called The New Basics Cookbook. The recipe is called Ariane Daguin's Magret a la d' Artagnan. Delicious. The recipe calls for an extra cup of wine for the cook to drink, love that detail.
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