LateRooms.com - Head to Dusseldorf for St Martin's Festival

DUSSELDORF, GERMANY, October 05, 2010 (Press-News.org) Visitors to Dusseldorf will be able to experience one of the Rhine city's ancient traditions if their trip coincides with the St Martin's Festival next month.

Dating back to Roman times, the event takes place on November 10th and sees local people remember a legendary act of kindness from Martin, a Roman centurion who once passed through the region.

According to the legend, the humble traveller proved his worth as a saint by selflessly offering his coat to a local beggar who was shivering in the cold.

This good deed is commemorated each year with a procession through the streets, with the walkers lighting their way by holding homemade lanterns.

People with Dusseldorf hotel bookings may like to join the event to enjoy traditional singing from local children and sample the festival's signature dish, Martinsgans (roast goose).

The procession makes its way through the city and arrives at a philanthropic re-enactment of St Martin donating his coat to the beggar.

Dusseldorf's location on the banks of the Rhine makes it a focal point of major celebrations in the western region of Germany.

St Martin's Festival takes place the night before the city's Carnival season, which culminates in March with a huge street parade, officially gets underway.

This event, which is known as Rose Monday and is scheduled for March 7th 2011, involves decorated floats and large numbers of people marching through the streets.

Other highlights of the Carnival include the Drag Queen Race, due to be held on March 5th next year.

As the name suggests, this event involves men racing each other along the Konigsallee - Dusseldorf's famous central boulevard - dressed in women's clothes and high heels.

LateRooms.com features a range of accommodation in Dusseldorf, including the Relexa Hotel Ratingen City.

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