St Martin of Tours (316-397) is venerated as a wine saint in many countries and wine-growing regions. He was born the son of a Roman tribune in Sabaria, now Szombathely in Hungary, and was sent to the province of Gaul as a soldier at the age of 15. He was baptised at the age of 18 and left the army. He spent over 25 years as a hermit in Pannonia and then returned to Poitiers (Département Vienne, Loire). It was here that the often-told legend of him sharing his cloak with a beggar occurred. When he was to be elected bishop, he hid in a goose stall (because he did not feel called), but the cackling of the geese betrayed him. The custom of eating a roast goose on St Martin's Day can be traced back to this.
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Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien