St. Martin's Day (Martinje)

Today is the traditional folk custom of Martinje (St. Martin's Day)! Saint Martin is a Catholic saint, the Bishop of Tours, and the first saint who was not a martyr. His feast day—Martinje—is celebrated on November 11, the date of his funeral.

In Prisika (Peresznye), a settlement of Burgenland Croats in northwestern Hungary in Vas County near Szombathely, where they settled in the 16th century, an exhibition was opened in collaboration between the Collection of Sacral Art of Croats in Hungary and the St. Martin Institute in Szombathely.

In northern Croatia, on St. Martin's Day, people cherish the traditional folk custom of symbolically transforming must (unfermented grape juice) into young wine—known as the "baptism of wine" (krštenje vina) or "baptism of must" (krštenje mošta)—as well as the blessing of vineyards. In towns where Saint Martin is the patron saint, large traditional music and folklore festivities are organized in town squares.

Particularly grand celebrations take place in Sveti Martin na Muri, Požega, Kutjevo, Velika Gorica, Dugo Selo, and Sveti Ivan Zelina.

At these celebrations, it is customary to feast on St. Martin's roast goose (martinjska guska) and mlinci (traditional baked flatbread noodles). Unfortunately, due to the ban on large gatherings, that will not happen this year—but this does not stop us from continuing this lovely and delicious tradition at least within our family circles.

Therefore, this weekend on its website in the CRO-gastro corner, Glas Hrvatske will show you how to prepare roast goose for Martinje, so that this custom of ours during the celebration of the baptism of wine is not forgotten.

Source: HRT