Nordharz (dpa/sa) - For Martin's Day on Friday, 500 geese are slaughtered in a company in Nordharz (Harz district). The company in the Veckenstedt district has the largest duck and geese population in Saxony-Anhalt, the state administration office announced on Thursday. Around 6,000 geese and 2,000 drakes and ducks were also raised there for the Christmas sale, with around 2,400 geese and 2,000 drakes and ducks going directly to customers over the counter in the farm shop.
According to the State Administration Office, around 30,000 geese are kept in Saxony-Anhalt. Statistically speaking, every Saxony-Anhalter eats 0.3 kilograms of goose per year.
Every year on St. Martin's Day on November 11, Christians celebrate St. Martin as the patron saint of the poor. According to legend, as a young soldier, Martin of Tours shared his cloak with a freezing beggar at the city gate of Amiens in northern France. The following night Jesus appeared to him with half his cloak on. The act of mercy, said to have taken place in the fourth century, became popular as a symbol of charity. Traditionally, St. Martin's Day is celebrated annually with customs such as the St. Martin's goose meal, the St. Martin's ride and children's lantern processions.
