Feast day of St. Martin of Tours -- Nov. 11 -- A day of feasting -- A time of harvest

from WIKI article on "St. Martin's Day"

From the late 4th century to the late Middle Ages, much of Western Europe, including Great Britain, engaged in a period of fasting beginning on the day after St. Martin's Day, November 11. This fast period lasted 40 days, and was, therefore, called "Quadragesima Sancti Martini", which means in Latin "the forty days of St. Martin." At St. Martin's eve, people ate and drank very heartily for a last time before they started to fast. This period of fasting was later shortened and called "Advent" by the Church.
In Ireland, on the eve of St. Martin's Day, it is tradition to sacrifice a cockerel by bleeding it. When the blood was collected, it was sprinkled on four corners of the house. Also in Ireland, no wheel of any kind was to turn on St. Martin's Day because Martin was thrown into a mill stream and killed by the wheel and because of that, it was not right to turn any kind of wheel on that day.
In some parts of the Germany, Netherlands and Belgium, children make their own lantern and go door to door with the lantern, and sing St. Martin songs, in exchange for sweets.
Many churches in Europe are named after Saint Martinus. St. Martin is the patron saint of Szombathely in Hungary, with a church dedicated to him, and also the patron saint of Quillota in Chile and Buenos Aires.
In Latin America, Martin has a strong popular following and is frequently referred to as San Martín Caballero, in reference to his common depiction on horseback.
Though no mention of Saint Martin's connection with viticulture is made by Gregory of Tours or other early hagiographers, he is nonetheless credited with a prominent role in spreading wine-making throughout the Touraine region and facilitating the planting of many vines. The Greek myth that Aristaeus first discovered the concept of pruning the vines after watching a goat eat some of the foliage has been appropriated to Martin.^[2] Martin is also credited with introducing the Chenin Blanc grape varietal, from which most of the white wine of western Touraine and Anjou is made.
Martin Luther was named after Saint Martin, as he was baptized on November 11 (St. Martin's Day), 1483.
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