Martinmas
American Heritage Dictionary:
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Mar·tin·mas
(mär'tn-məs) 
n.
n.
- A Christian feast observed in commemoration of the death and burial of Saint Martin of Tours.
- November 11, the day on which this feast is observed.
[Middle English martinmesse : Martin, Saint Martin of Tours + messe, masse, Mass; see Mass.]
Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore:
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Martinmas
Martlemas
This date, 11 November, is the feast of St Martin of Tours. In medieval and Elizabethan times it was an occasion for an ample feast of meat, because livestock which could not be fed through the winter was being slaughtered. Other joints were hung in the chimney to dry, like bacon, and were called Martlemas beef (or mutton). It was regarded as the end of the farming year, and in many places hiring fairs were held for farm-workers who wished to change jobs.
In some areas, it was said that the weather on this date foretold that of the coming winter. In others, this could be deduced from markings on the breast-bone of a goose eaten on Matinmas Eve; white marks meant snow and dark ones hard frost, while the front part of the bone meant before Christmas and the back part afterwards.
Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology:
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Martinmas
[Ge]
A traditional calendar festival in northern Europe celebrated in recent times on 11 November. Martinmas or All Hallows marked the time when stock were excluded from the fields in tillage and when the sowing of winter corn was expected to be complete.
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categories related to 'Martinmas'
- Annual National and Religious Holidays - Martinmas: Christian: November 11, celebrating feast of St. Martin
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American Heritage Dictionary
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Dictionary of English Folklore
A Dictionary of English Folklore. Copyright © 2000, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology
The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Archaeology. Copyright © 2002, 2003 by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
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