Every year at this time, from the north to the south of Portugal, there are various chestnut fairs and street vendors. After all, magustos are part of our popular traditions.
It’s therefore customary to celebrate St. Martin’s Day on November 11th. But have you ever wondered how this date came to be in our calendar? Or why it’s so celebrated in Portugal?
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Who is St. Martin?
St. Martin, or Martin of Tours, was born in 316 in the ancient city of Savaria in Pannonia, located in present-day Hungary.
He grew up in the Pavia region of Italy in a pagan family and was raised to pursue a military career, being drafted into the Roman army at the age of 15.
Despite his pagan upbringing, he discovered Christianity as a teenager and was only baptized in 356, after leaving the army.
At this point in his life, he was a disciple of St. Hilary, bishop of Poitiers (in present-day France), who ordained him deacon and priest.
Near Poitiers, he founded the oldest known monastery in Europe, in the Ligugé region, and became known for his miracles and as a saint who attracted crowds.
He died on November 8, 397 in Candes and was buried on November 11 in Tours, a place that has been a pilgrimage site since the 5th century.
It is precisely on the date of his burial that the day dedicated to him is celebrated, and it is believed that the summer of St. Martin is due to him because on the eve and the day of November 10 and 11, the weather usually improves and the sun appears from behind the clouds.
Chestnuts…
And why do we eat chestnuts and drink foot-water? As if you needed an excuse to eat a cone of hot chestnuts and drink a good pinga, right? But there are some reasons!
Whether they’re roasted, boiled with fennel or ground, chestnuts are one of the foods of choice at this time of year.
We love a good cone of roasted chestnuts at any of these stalls in Porto. After all, as the popular saying goes:
On St. Martin’s Day, bread, chestnuts and wine!!!
Tradition has it that in November and on St. Martin’s Day there are magustos, the traditional festivities where chestnuts are roasted and foot-water is drunk.
And we eat chestnuts because this is when this nutritious food is harvested, between October and December.
Another story that is told is that the origin of the magustos was on All Saints’ Day, November 1, when tables were prepared with chestnuts so that the spirits of the dead would come and eat them.
… and foot water
And because a good magusto isn’t just made of roasted chestnuts, during these festivities you should light a fire and drink água-pé, or jeropiga.
Traditionally Portuguese, água-pé is a low-alcohol alcoholic drink made by adding water to grape pomace.
Like jeropiga, água-pé is drunk at bonfires, especially on St. Martin’s Day, and in the regions of Minho, Trás-os-Montes, Beira Interior, Ribatejo and the Saloia area of Extremadura.