Hebrew-English Guide to Soncino

61 THE LEGENDS THE SUMMER OF SAINT MARTIN A young soldier of the Roman army named Martin from Tours, born of pagan parents who had chosen his name in honor of Mars, during a winter expedition, on a very cold day, arrived at the doors of the city of Amiens. There, he found a poor beggar with ragged clothes asking for help. Martin had nothing with him except for his military mantle. He took it off, divided it into two parts with his sword and put half of it on the shoulders of the beggar who thanked him. For three days the cold subsided and, even without half of the mant- le, Martin did not suffer from the cold. On the evening of the third day, Martin dreamt that Jesus gave him back half of his mantle. The day after, Martin decided to leave the army and he became a Christian to look after poor and needy people rather than devote his life to battles and war. Every year, during the first days of November, the “Summer of Saint Martin” is celebrated, a period in which, after the first cold weather, good weather conditions and relative warmth occur.