Mårtensgås
When and how is Mårtengås or St Martin’s Day celebrated? When is the goose dinner with black soup? And who is Mårten? The celebration of festivals and folk traditions among the people of the Nordic societies is one of the Nordic Museum’s areas of expertise. Here you can find out more about St Martin’s Day celebrations based on the museum’s collections and expertise.
The origins of St Martin’s Day
St Martin’s Day ‘Mårtensafton’ is celebrated in Sweden on 10 November, the evening before St Martin’s Day on 11 November. The tradition is named after Saint Martin of Tours, a bishop from France who was canonised in the Middle Ages. His symbol was a goose.
According to legend, Martin tried to avoid being appointed bishop of Tours by hiding in a goose shed, but the geese revealed him with their honking. Since geese are at their fattest in late autumn, this may also have contributed to their connection with the celebration.
St Martin’s Day has been celebrated in large parts of Europe since at least the Middle Ages and was one of the most important autumn festivals. In Sweden, the day was marked with a goose on runstavar, wooden perpetual calendars with carved runes and symbols used in the farming society.
From elite feast to Swedish tradition
The tradition of eating goose on 10 November is known in Sweden since the 16th century, mainly among the upper classes and wealthy urban families. The earliest written record of a St Martin’s goose meal in Sweden comes from the Stockholm area. In 1557, councillor Björn Persson Bååt from Fållnäs estate in Södermanland thanked his brother for the “sancte morthens gåsz” he had received.
During the 19th century, roast goose became more widespread socially, but it was not until the 20th-century welfare era that St Martin’s celebrations and goose as festive food became more common. In present-day Sweden, the tradition of eating roast goose and svartsoppa (black soup) is especially associated with Skåne.
The tradition of eating goose, like many other customs and celebrations, probably came to Sweden through Germany. Older evidence of goose as festive food exists in countries such as Germany, France and Denmark.
Mårtengås feast today
The St Martin’s goose feast is now strongly connected to Skåne. Goose arrived on the tables of Skåne farmers in the mid-19th century, mainly in the southwestern parts of the region. Around the same time, restaurants began serving roast goose on St Martin’s Day.
Goose farming declined in other parts of Sweden due to agricultural reforms, including the enclosure movement, which meant that geese could no longer graze on common village land. In southern Sweden, however, geese could still feed on stubble fields and wet meadows.
A traditional St Martin’s dinner includes roast goose and svartsoppa, a rich soup made from goose blood and today flavoured with spices such as cloves, cognac and fortified wine. The flavour resembles gingerbread. Apple slices with the roast goose or apple pie for dessert are also common. The modern version of svartsoppa is, however, very different from the soup eaten on farms in the past, as ingredients such as cognac, fortified wine and many spices were not available then.
Weather sayings are also connected to the celebration. One saying goes: “If Martin travels by sleigh, Anders rides.” This means that if there is snow on St Martin’s Day on 11 November, there will be bare ground on St Andrew’s Day on 30 November – or the opposite.
