The history of Saint Martin : why chestnuts?

Saint Martin, or Martin of Tours, was born around 316 in the ancient city of Savaria in Pannonia, an ancient province on the frontier of the Roman Empire in present-day Hungary. The son of a Roman commander, he grew up in the Pavia region of Italy in a pagan family. Raised to pursue a military career, he was drafted into the Roman army when he was fifteen, traveling throughout the Western Roman Empire.

Despite having received a pagan education, it was as a teenager that Martin discovered Christianity. But it was only later, in 356, after having abandoned the army, that he was baptized. He became a disciple of Saint Hilary, bishop of Poitiers (in western France), who ordained him deacon and priest, then returned to Pannonia, where he converted his mother. He later moved to Milan, where he was expelled along with Saint Hilary. Isolated, he will have spent some time on the island of Galinaria, off the Italian coast.

Back in Gaul, it was near Poitiers that he founded the oldest known monastery in Europe, in the Ligugé region. Known for his miracles, the saint attracted crowds. He was ordained Bishop of Tours in 371 and founded the monastery of Marmoutier on the bank of the River Loire, where he lived in seclusion. A tireless preacher, he was also the founder of the first rural churches in the Gaul region, where he served both rich and poor. He died on November 8, 397 at Candes and was buried on November 11 at Tours, a place of intense pilgrimage since the 5th century.

It is on the date of his burial, three days after he died in Candes, that the day dedicated to him is celebrated. It is believed that, on the eve and on the day of the celebrations, the weather improves and the sun appears. The event is known as the “summer of São Martinho” and is often associated with the well-known legend of São Martinho.
The Legend of Saint Martin

On a cold and rainy winter day, Martin was riding a horse when he encountered a beggar. Seeing the beggar shivering with cold and with nothing to give him, he took his sword and cut his cloak in half, covering it with one part. Further on, he found another beggar again, with whom he shared the other half of the cloak. With nothing to protect him from the cold, Martinho continued on his journey. Legend has it that, at that moment, the black clouds disappeared and the sun came up. The good weather lasted for three days.

The following night, Christ appeared to Martin in a dream. Wearing the beggar's robe, he turned to the multitude of angels who accompanied him and said aloud, "Martin, still a catechumen [who was not baptized], covered me with this garment."
Traditions of Saint Martin's Day

Saint Martin's Day is celebrated all over Europe, but celebrations vary from country to country. In Portugal, it is a tradition to make a great magusto, drink agua-pé and jeropiga. This is also a time to taste the new wine. As the popular saying goes, “on Saint Martin's day, go to the cellar and taste the wine”.

According to some authors, such as José Leite de Vasconcelos and Ernesto Veiga de Oliveira, the performance of magustos dates back to an ancient tradition of commemoration of All Saints' Day, where bonfires were lit and chestnuts were roasted. In other countries, such as Germany, bonfires are lit and processions are held, and in Spain pigs are killed, a tradition that gave rise to the popular saying “a cada cerdo le llega su San Martín” (“each pig has its Saint Martin”). Also in the United Kingdom there is the expression “summer of Saint Martin” which, although rarely used, is also linked to the belief that the weather improves in the days before the holiday.