The Goose has been a strong figure in the history of civilization, be it drawings of Brahman's riding on a goose (also a swan) ......

or the Egyptians's sun god RA was hatched from a goose egg,

to Greeks and Romans both thought the goose a divine and sacred animal, considered the protectress of their people.

In China the goose was considred the messenger between heaven and earth and the goddess of marriage since geese mate for life.

Celtic Goose symbol used for tatoos

Conversely the Celts thought of geese as the god of war as they were are very fierce and protective.

You can read more about the goose in mythology at this wonderful site.

In the book "The History of Food" the author states it well....

"The Martinmas or Michaelmas roast goose is actually the perpetuation of the ceremonies of Celtic Samhain or Hallowe'en and Germanic Yule, originally the first day of the New Year, now our 1st November. Van Gennep, writing on French folklore, reminds us that it was a good occasion for feasting on tender geese that had must been fattened. Originally roast goose was a thank-offering for the harvest that had been gathered in, the Erntedankfest or harvest home, a sacrifice first to the spirit of vegetation, the to the gods of Odin and Thor.

The goose, ritually eaten, magically ensured the regeneration in the months to come of nature as she went underground for the winter, precisely parallel to the Greek myth of the abduction of Persephone by the lord of the underworld...The great feasts of Samhain-All Saints' and St. Martin's Day on 11th November were thus rituals uniting the assembled company of the living with the spirits of the dead...During the Renaissance the tradition of eating goose on All Saints' Day was still widely observed..."

--- History of Food , Maguelonne Toussaint-Samat, translated by Anthea Bell [Barnes and Noble Books: New York] 1992 (p. 352-3)

Geese have some amazing talents one of which is to forage. So after a harvest they would forage for the droppings left, such as wheat. So by November or December they were nicely fattened and a perfect choice for a Christmas bird.

But also they were great protectors like guard dogs. The Romans and Greeks and then Europeans used geese to protect crops and farm animals and I read in one place even NASA used them to protect their launch pads.

They seem to be very smart animals, at least their are a lot of reports of geese doing amazing things. they apparently will carry a rock in their mouths when in a flock and in an area where there are precieved enemies so they will keep their normal yapping at bay.

They fly in flocks that are V shapped to get more distance in a day.
One author noted that a goose with it's long neck could turn a riotissere with just the use of it's neck like an arm would. They noted that the goose would need a drink now and then.

I think that if you want to infuse some German into your Christmas dinner that a goose is a good way to feel the many hundreds of years that this has been a part of German Christmas Dinners.

my grandma Emma (left)with her brother and sister
back in Germany

the old family farm house in Steinsfurt, Germany

My grandma use to herd the Geese on the family farm in Steinsfurt, Germany to an island in the river for them to forage during the day and play with the other geese.

In the late afternoon she would go to the small island again and the geese knew she was there and would separate from all the other geese to follow her back home.

My dad remembers during the fall when Emma and her sisters were grown and here in America, they would grab a nice fatted goose and sometimes one sister would hold the goose and another would hold the head and then a third would cut off the head, all still while wearing dresses. That was the traditional daily style back then.

Martinmas or St Martin's Day which is celebrated on Nov 11 for the saintly man St Martin from Tours who demonstrated modesty and kindness to the poor. For hundreds of years it became a tradition of serving a goose for dinner like a turkey is roasted in the United States for Thanksgiving.

There are several theories how this tradition came to be, but one is about St Martin himself.

Martin of tours was a high ranking soldier in the Roman army, that left his high postion to serve god. He bacame well known as a man that helped the poor maybe in some ways like Mother Theresa. He was a role model and so the church wanted to make him a Bishop in the Catholic Church but he didn't want that kind of noteriety.

A painting of Martin leaving the high position of a Roman soldier

St Martin and the Goose Debacle

Statue of St Martin cutting his cloak in 2 to give to a cold stranger.
at the Höchster Schloss (Castle) in Frankfurt Germany

Goose = male or female.

Gander = male;

Gosling is a young goose under 4 months of age.

Queen Elizabeth the first was a big fan. When she was told about the destruction of the Spanish Armada, it was September 29, the Feast of Saint Michael, or Michaelmas, and she was dining on roast goose with sage and onion stuffing. She decreed that thereafter goose was to be served on this day in celebration.