st. martin's day

"It is St. Martin's Day,
we'll eat chestnuts, we'll taste the wine."
(a portuguese typical saying)

the portuguese tradition...

Associated with a period of good weather, that welcomes sunny and warm days in the middle of autumn, St. Martin's Day is also frequently related with the celebration of the final stage of maturation of the year's wine.

All over the country parties are thrown, specially in small towns where the traditions are still very alive. Here, in Portugal, we celebrate St. Martin's Day eating roasted chestnuts, dry figs and walnuts, and drinking the typical alcoholic beverages "jeropiga" and "água-pé", althought this last one was officially banned for sale in Portugal, we can still find it in small local shops from domestic production.

In the end, this was a sunny but cold day! And the roasted chestnuts were not forgotten... they tasted delicious and helped warm the day!