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By D.G. Martin

November is full of special days and holidays.

This year one of the most important was Election Day, November 5. That day gets most of our attention this year because its results will bring about important changes in our lives throughout the coming years.

In my family, we also remember November 11 because it was my father’s birthday. Although he has been dead for more than 50 years, we remember him and the quiet, affectionate, and gentle way he guided our family and, for a time, the fortunes of Davidson College, for which he served as president from 1958 until 1968. Our memories on this day always have a touch of sadness. We still mourn his premature death at age 63 from early-onset Alzheimer’s Disease. This remembered tragedy challenges the spirit of optimism that was one of his greatest gifts to us.

Because of our common Martin name, our family also celebrates another special day on November 11. That day passes without much notice in most of our country.  But in parts of Europe, St. Martin’s Day is widely and enthusiastically celebrated, marking the day of the beginning the Christmas season. Traditionally, families gather for a festive meal and, if they can afford it, cook and eat together a goose.

St. Martin himself had been a young soldier, who, upon seeing a poor, cold beggar in the snow, took his own cloak, cut it into two pieces, and gave one of them to the beggar. The remaining pieces of the cloak became treasured relics referred to as “cappella” or little cloaks. The structures in which the portions of the cloak were preserved came to be called “chapels.” That term came to refer to small churches in general and specifically to one located in Orange County called Chapel Hill.

My Martin family has adopted St. Martin’s Day as our own special holiday.

On Thanksgiving Day, as my family will gather around the table in gratitude for all our blessings, we will be looking back a few weeks to Nov. 11.

Now we call it Veterans Day. Originally, though, it was called Armistice Day, arising out of the truce that ended World War I. November 11 gives us a special opportunity to recognize and show our appreciation for the service of veterans.

All these days are important. But my Martin family has adopted St. Martin’s Day as our own special “Martin holiday.” Once we even baked a goose European-style and invited Martins from all over to eat with us.

D.G. Martin, a retired lawyer, served as UNC-System’s vice president for public affairs and hosted PBS-NC’s North Carolina Bookwatch.

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