St. Martin's Day other areas it is more a day for children, with toys brought on the night of 10 to 11 November. In the west part of the Belgian province of West Flanders, especially around Ypres, children receive presents from either their friends or family as supposedly coming from St. Martin on November 11. In other areas it is customary that children receive gifts later in the year from either their friends or family as supposedly coming from Saint Nicholas on December 5 or 6 (called Sinterklaas in Belgium and the Netherlands) or Santa Claus on December 25. In Wervik, children go
St. Martin's Day is "His Martinmas will come as it does to every hog," meaning "he will get his comeuppance" or "everyone must die".) Because of this, St. Martin's Feast is much like the American Thanksgiving - a celebration of the earth's bounty. Because it also comes before the penitential season of Advent, it is seen as a mini "carnivale", with all the feasting and bonfires. As at Michaelmas on 29 September, goose is eaten in most places. Following these holidays, women traditionally moved their work indoors for the winter, while men would proceed to work in the forests. In some countries, Martinmas