Sint Maartens v's Halloween

As Sint Maarten and Halloween have merged into one long sweet/candy eating festival in our house, I have outlined the differences between the two autumn festivals for my children, so they can manage their expectations and prepare accordingly.

Halloween is a festival involving all things spooky, and centres 'around the theme of using "humor and ridicule to confront the power of death'. 

Sint Maarten's  remembers a saint who shared his cloak with a beggar. The day is celebrated on the evening of 11th November, in some parts of the Netherlands, where he is known as Sint-Maarten. As soon it gets dark or at 6.15pm on our street, children up to the age of 11 or 12 (primary school age) go door to door with handmade lanterns singing and hoping to receive sweets/candy in return.

Here are the main differences between the two festivals.

1. Dressing up

Dressing up in scary witch, ghost, vampire, mummy costumes is for Halloween. You do not get dressed up for Sint Maartens.

2. Lanterns

You make lanterns and then either make a stick with a light attached or buy a stick with a light attached. On Halloween you don't need lanterns.

Sint Maartens

3. Pumpkins

You carve out pumpkins on Halloween and make faces in them or decorative pictures. There are no Pumpkins involved in Sint Maartens.

4. Singing Songs

You sing lots of songs for Sint Maartens. There are no songs involved in Halloween.

5. Trick or Treating

On Halloween, when you knock or ring the bell of a house, you ask the person who answers the door, 'Trick or Treat?'. Sadly, the days where homeowners squirt silly spray or throw eggs et you are gone, and people will simply smile and give you a lot of sweets.  During Sint n, you don't say 'Trick or Treat' when someone opens the door, you sing a song.

6. The Number of Sweets you Receive

When you are offered sweets for Halloween, you can take as many as you feel appropriate. For Sint Maarten's, you will be expected to choose one sweet. In both cases, it's very important to express your gratitude for the generosity of the person giving you sweets. It is not appropriate to say, 'can I have more than one sweet'.

7. When?

Halloween takes place on 31st October and Sint Maartens on 11th November, the date Saint Maarten died.

And most importantly, whichever you end up doing, or even if your children were lucky enough to celebrate both Halloween and Sint Martins, have fun and remember to brush your teeth.