November 11 was St. Martin's Day. Children came to the door with a lighted lantern. They sang a St. Martin song. Then we gave them a treat. Traditionally the lanterns were made from hollowed-out turnips.

Does this sound familiar? Keith has a theory. We know that New Englanders borrowed ideas from their Dutch neighbors. Koekjes became cookies. Olliebollen became donuts. Sinterklaas became Santa Claus. Dutch colonists brought the idea of Saint Nicolas (Sinterklaas) to North America. English-speaking North Americans melded this with their own Father Christmas to create Santa Claus. 

Maybe they also merged their own celebration of All Hallow's Eve to North America with the idea of  hollowing out a vegetable and sticking a candle in it. Maybe they also borrowed the idea of going door-to-door and singing, too. Viola--Halloween.

This year our neighborhood organized both Halloween and St. Martin for children. You could sign up to be on the route. 

Saint Martin was a friend of children and a patron saint for the poor. He's most known for cutting his cloak in half on a cold winter's night to save a beggar from freezing to death. 

I might be an American, but I'm a Christian and I'm living in the Netherlands. We signed up for St. Martin's Day.

(Photo of drawing to put in the window as a sign that you're participating.)