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ARTINMAS & LATE AUTUMN CHORES

St. Martin of Tours, born about 316 AD, is known for his generosity and charity. As a young Roman soldier he sliced his cloak in half and shared it with a freezing beggar at the gates of Amiens. That night Jesus appeared to him wearing the missing half of his cloak. Although he remained a soldier for years, he ends his life as a religious hermit. After being granted sainthood, he becomes the patron saint of beggars, geese, horses, hotel and inn keepers, as well as alcoholics, both recovering and current.

Martinmas, or the mass of St. Martin, occurs on November 11 which just so happens to be an ancient Roman feast day celebrating Bacchus.