I love both, and for the next couple of months I might not be able to keep up being 20/80 vegetarian.
Here is what google AI says about the differences and similarities of the tradition:
The Danish Mortensaften (St. Martin’s Eve) tradition is the exact equivalent of the German Martinsgans (St. Martin’s goose) tradition.
- The Name: “Morten” is simply the traditional Danish version of the name “Martin”. Both holidays honor St. Martin of Tours.
- The Timing: In Germany, the feast is usually celebrated on St. Martin’s Day itself (November 11th). In Denmark, following a common Nordic custom, the celebration takes place on the eve before the feast day, known as Mortensaften (November 10th).
- The Legend: Both traditions share the exact same origin story. According to church legend, the humble St. Martin did not want to be consecrated as a bishop, so he hid in a goose pen. However, the loud cackling of the geese gave him away. To punish them, he decreed that geese should be eaten every year on his feast day.
- The Meat (Goose vs. Duck): While Germans still traditionally serve a roast goose (Martinsgans), the tradition shifted slightly when it arrived in Denmark around the year 1600. Geese were quite expensive and too large for smaller Danish households, so the majority of Danes switched to roasting a duck (and) instead.
Here in Berlin, it is also the start of a months-long season where many restaurants (and Christmas markets big enough to have proper sit-down restaurants) serve goose not unlike the way duck is served in Denmark – accompanied by potatoes, or in many cases Klöse – I don’t know how that translates but they weigh a tonne and stick to the top of your mouth and are almost inedible even to me), brown gravy, and red cabbage. The main difference between Denmark and Germany is that here, they also serve kale, which I will never get used to. I love both red cabbage and kale, but to me, the two do not go together at all, so I usually opt for one or the other – never both together.
Come to think of it – in Denmark, in addition to normal boiled potatoes, they also serve small, sugar-coated potatoes – a tradition I have always found even weider than serving red cabbage and kale on the same plate.
But the all-time weirdest experience I have had here once or twice has been finding marzipan in the middle of the afore-mentioned Klöse, probably as a concession to the Christmas season. To me, marzipan is quite addictive, but NOT in a savoury dish.