FÊTE DE SAINT-MARTIN

On Saint-Martin, November 11th has a dual significance. As in France, it marks the date commemorating the Armistice of 1918. But above all, it is Saint-Martin's Day. Christopher Columbus is said to have discovered the island on his second voyage, on November 11, 1493, and to have named it after the saint of the day, Saint Martin de Tours. Since 1959, each year the French and Dutch authorities have taken it in turns to organize a ceremony on either side of the border. The day is a national holiday.