It’s November and the growing season has ended here in Portugal. All the vegetables have been harvested, the olives shaken from the trees, and the grapes picked, stomped, and processed. So the only thing left to do is celebrate!
São Martinho Day or Saint Martin’s Day is celebrated as the last day of the harvest and the first day to try the “new wine” produced last year. Magusto is the arrival of the chestnut harvest season.
Usually, there is a big party with wine and roasted chestnuts. Our village school is hosting an autumn festival with dried fruit, roasted chestnuts, and other goodies.
Who was São Martinho?
If you have listened to any of our podcasts, you would know I have a fascination with saints. The story of São Martinho is particularly interesting.
Good Martinho or Martin of Tours was the son of a military commander of the Roman Empire. He was traveling on horseback and came across a nearly naked beggar shivering in the cold.
Martinho took his sword and cut his cape in half, offering it to the beggar. At that moment, the sun came out and warmed him up. This was his reward for his act of kindness.
The weather gets a little better this time of year and this is called Saint Martin’s summer or the summer of São Martinho. As someone who does not welcome winter, I am looking forward to seeing if this is true!
Our Festa de São Martinho
Last year, I attended a neighborhood party at a local cafe. There was a small band playing music and people were dancing and a few men were roasting chestnuts in the street with what looked like a chimney cooker.
We were sitting inside the bar area (because it was cold) and I kept noticing one of the employees getting a plastic water container out of the cooler. The container didn’t have water in it; it had a weird light yellowish liquid in it.
I finally got up the courage to ask what it was. It was a drink called água pé (translated as foot-water). After the grapes have been stomped by the feet for wine production, the leftover juice, which has been fermenting for a few days, is served as a drink. I promptly ordered one.
Some make brandy with it called Jeropiga, some drink it as is. I think we were drinking as is.
It tasted a bit sour but I gladly joined the locals and drank a few glasses of it. The alcohol content was not as high as the wine so all was good. No singing and dancing with the locals, but the chestnuts were incredible!
How do we celebrate St. Martin’s Day?
São Martinho died on November 11th and therefore the dia de São Martinho is celebrated then. There are street parties and bonfires. Most of them involve roasted chestnuts and tastings of the “new wine” from the harvest.
There are already street vendors out roasting chestnuts. I highly recommend you eat them fresh off the fire. They tend to get a little mealy when overcooked.
I don’t know if our village will be having the same celebration this year, but if they do, I’ll be there!
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Shelley is a full time traveler, blogger and podcaster currently living in Portugal with her wife, 2 dogs and a cat. She is a former history teacher originally from Winston-Salem, NC but wanted to see what life was like abroad. Now she travels all over Portugal and Europe writing about what she sees and does and tells you all kinds of fun stories on the podcast at Wandering Works for Us.