Dutch children are knocking on doors for candy, but this time it’s not Halloween

• Children across Dutch towns and villages celebrate Sint-Maarten by carrying handmade lanterns and singing for treats.

• The tradition is linked to St. Martin of Tours, a Roman soldier remembered for sharing his cloak with a poor beggar.

• Although it began as a Catholic celebration, Sint-Maarten has evolved into a mostly secular children’s tradition.

• Different Dutch regions celebrate it differently, with some holding lantern processions and bonfires.

Children across parts of the Netherlands are swapping Halloween costumes for lanterns, songs, and a sweet reward as they celebrate Sint-Maarten, an annual tradition held every November 11.

After dark, children in several Dutch towns and villages walk around their neighbourhoods carrying handmade lanterns while singing short traditional songs at people’s doors. In return, residents give them fruits, sweets, and other treats.

The celebration is linked to St. Martin of Tours, a fourth-century Roman soldier who later became a bishop in what is now France. According to legend, Martin once cut his military cloak in half with his sword and gave one part to a freezing beggar outside the city of Amiens.

The story says that later that night, Christ appeared to him in a dream wearing the piece of cloak he had given away. The experience reportedly changed Martin’s life, leading him to dedicate himself to helping the poor.

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Although Sint-Maarten started as a Catholic celebration, the tradition has gradually moved away from religion and become more of a children’s event centred around kindness, lanterns, and collecting treats.

“Sint-Maarten was a very popular saint in Europe, more important than St. Nicholas,” Irene Stengs, a researcher in ethnology at the Meertens Institute and professor of ritual and popular culture at Vrije Universiteit, previously told RTL.

Stengs explained that many people today no longer connect the celebration with the saint’s story.

“It no longer has anything to do with Catholicism,” she said.

Unlike Halloween, which is widely associated with costumes and scary themes, Sint-Maarten focuses more on light, singing, and sharing. Children usually make their own lanterns before heading out to visit homes.

However, the tradition is not celebrated the same way everywhere in the Netherlands. In some communities, children go door-to-door, while areas like Venlo and nearby towns organise lantern processions that often end with a bonfire.

The celebration is less common in Noord-Brabant and Zeeland. According to RTL, while the event remained mostly connected to churches in some Catholic regions, other parts of the country developed it into the children’s street tradition seen today.

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Utrecht has also introduced a modern version of the celebration, featuring large light sculptures during its parade. Waldorf schools across the Netherlands continue to observe the day even in places where door-to-door singing is uncommon.

Many of the songs children sing during Sint-Maarten are over 100 years old, although some are now shortened. Stengs said one popular song, which includes the line about “the cows having tails,” is rarely performed completely anymore.

“Children mainly sing very short sentences, I think,” she told RTL.

While the meaning behind the celebration has changed over time, one thing remains the same: children still go from house to house, sing their songs, and receive something in return.

“So it’s still about sharing; that element has been preserved,” Stengs said.