St Maarten Parade Utrecht 2024 #impression #parade #lightfestevent #utrecht #aftermovie #stmaarten

The citizens of the city of Utrecht love the Saint Maarten Parade. Each year the celebrations take place over a few days. Kids knock on doors just like halloween to ask for candy in their neighbourhoods. St. Martin, or Sint Maarten in Dutch, was the bishop of Tours, France and lived in the fourth century. He is best known as a patron of the poor, for the good deeds he was said to have performed when he was in the Roman military. The story goes that on a cold day, a beggar asked him for help. St. Martin tore his own cloak in half and shared it with the man. That night he had a dream, telling him that the beggar was Jesus. This led him to leave the army and pursue religion. The feast day honouring St. Martin in the Netherlands is observed on the day he died, November 11. The 2024 St. Martin Parade took place on Saturday, November 9. That year's theme was "from generation to generation". It was a fantastic edition with the endpoint, the iconic Dom Tower, stripped of its thick coat of scaffolding after years of renovation. After the arrival of the Parade, the tower was festively "returned" to the city and a big party was held on the Domplein. Queen Maxima of the Netherlands was present to open the official celebrations. Music always plays a big part in the parade. Many groups from around the city in different genres of music participate and show off their skills in the parade. Mini Music Movies celebrates with them through this short video impression.