Sint-Maarten

Sint-Maarten falls on 11 November, the feast day of Martin of Tours, the Roman soldier who, according to legend, cut his cloak in two with his sword to share it with a freezing beggar at the gates of Amiens. In the Netherlands the day belongs to children. In the weeks before, they make a lampion at school, a paper lantern on a stick with a small light inside, and as soon as it gets dark on the evening itself they set off along the streets in small groups, often with a parent a few steps behind.

At every door they ring the bell and sing a Sint-Maarten song, such as 'Sint Maarten, Sint Maarten, de koeien hebben staarten' or 'Elf november is de dag dat mijn lichtje branden mag', and the neighbours reward them with sweets, a mandarin or a handful of crisps. The tradition is strongest in the north and centre of the country: in Groningen children carve lanterns out of sugar beets, Utrecht, whose patron saint Martin is, holds a big lantern parade, and in Limburg villages light a Sint-Maarten bonfire.

The pack has 35 words spread across these domains.