St Martin's Day
- proper noun
- UK
:
Día de San Martín
- Many European countries hold lantern processions to celebrate St Martin's Day every November.
Examples
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Local churches host special events on St Martin's Day to honor the saint's generosity.
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In Scotland, St Martin's Day marks one of the traditional quarter days for settling rents and contracts.
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Many people celebrate St Martin's Day with feasts.
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When is St Martin's Day celebrated?
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In Scotland, St Martin's Day marks one of the traditional quarter days for settling rents and contracts.
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Local churches host special events on St Martin's Day to honor the saint's generosity.
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Many European countries hold lantern processions to celebrate St Martin's Day every November.
Synonyms
A day on November 11 when people celebrate Saint Martin
A day that marks Saint Martin's Day and is a traditional day for paying rents in Scotland
Surface Forms
Morphology
St + Martin's + day
The phrase is compositional: 'St' (=Saint) + 'Martin's' + 'day' clearly signals a day dedicated to or commemorating Saint Martin. While a learner might not know the specific traditions or date, the basic meaning 'a day celebrating Saint Martin' is directly derivable from the constituents and is cross-linguistically common.
Etymology
St Martin's Day comes from the story of St Martin, a soldier who cut his cloak in half to share with a poor man on a cold night, and people remember his act of giving on this 'day'. That's why today communities celebrate his kindness every November 11 with church events, lantern processions, and in some places the date became a 'quarter day' for paying rents and contracts.
