November 11th in Canada is dedicated to Remembrance Day, a time to remember those who fought and died in armed conflict. Austrians remember the fallen particularly on All Souls Day – November 2nd. Families usually visit the cemeteries to light candles for their loved ones. We had the chance to visit Graz’s cemetery on All Souls’, and it was a very peaceful opportunity to reflect.
November 11th in Austria is St. Martin’s Day, dedicated to St. Martin of Tours, a Roman soldier who converted to Christianity in the 4th century. According to legend, one bitterly cold winter night he cut his cloak in half to share with a beggar, who would have otherwise frozen to death. His feast day marks the end of the harvest, and is a time for celebration and thanksgiving before Advent (previously a period of fasting).
In many parts of Austria, it is traditional to cook a goose. After personally ordering a 9 pound bird, E & P cordially invited us to celebrate St. Martin’s Day with them…an Austrian Thanksgiving! The meal was superb, thanks to P’s expert cooking skills. Homemade tiramisu and “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” rounded off a wonderful evening.
Austrian goose, Italian cake, British comedy, and two hungry Canadian girls? We truly live in a multicultural world. J
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| The goose! |
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| Shears. |
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| Now we're getting serious! |
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| Es hat SEHR gut geschmeckt. (It tasted awesome!) |
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| The Tiramisu, in all its glory. :-) |
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| E, the photographer. |
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| A suggested serving. ;-) |
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