Groningen will get a new St Martin’s Day Parade (or Sunnemeerten Parade in the Gronings dialect) next year including lights, music, and performances.
St Martin’s Day (or Sint Maarten), which falls on the 11th of November, is a Catholic holiday celebrated in a few parts of the Netherlands, as well as the north of France, parts of Belgium and Germany, Denmark, the south of Sweden, Portugal, and Hungary. In the Netherlands, children go door to door and sing songs in return for candy, similar to the trick-or-treating tradition on Halloween.
The parade is inspired by the parade in Utrecht, where citizens come together to make their own light sculptures and carry them around the streets including music and other performances. The organisation Sunnemeerten is in close contact with the organisation in Utrecht to learn from their experiences and way of working to make sure the parade will be successful.
“With the parade, we want to let people experience how beautiful it is to create something together and be proud of that,” initiator Hannelore Duynstee said, as reported by GIC. Everyone is free to join. “We want to show the power of coming together on the streets of Groningen and do that in the spirit of St Martin, the patron saint of Groningen.”
In November 2025, the parade will be going through the city centre of Groningen ending on the Grote Markt where a closing ceremony will take place. Taking part in the parade is free. More information can be found here.
