St. Martin's Day Birthday" for those named after this saint. Small presents or money are common gifts for this special occasion. Tradition says that if it snows on the feast of St. Martin, November 11, then St. Martin came on a white horse and there will be snow on Christmas day. However, if it doesn't snow on this day, then St. Martin came on a dark horse and it will not snow on Christmas. A Czech proverb connected with the Feast of St. Martin - "Martin přijíždí na bílém koni" (trans. "Martin is coming on a white horse") - signifies that the first
Alexis St. Martin processes of digestion by dangling food on a string into St. Martin's stomach, then later pulling it out to observe to what extent it had been digested. Beaumont continued to experiment on St. Martin off and on until 1833, performing an estimated 200 experiments in 10 years. Alexis St. Martin allowed the experiments to be conducted, not as an act to repay Beaumont for keeping him alive, but rather because Beaumont had the illiterate St. Martin sign a contract to work as a servant. Beaumont recalls the chores St. Martin did: "During this time, in the intervals of experimenting, he