Annually in Belgium , about 2000 different festivals, festivals, festivities and processions are held. No European country can boast of such a variety of festive celebrations. Among all the splendor of the events, it is necessary to highlight, of course, folkloric and religious celebrations, as Belgium is among the zealously esteemed Catholic countries and has a rich folk culture.
Holidays in Belgium are very colorful, bright, unusual. You can witness the festive processions and street festivities, religious processions and colorful carnivals, plunge into the world of music and art of different countries or look at the performances of huge folk dolls. The most impressive spectacles can be seen in February, March, May and August.
The main festivals of the country
Day of Belgium
The nationwide annual holiday, which is celebrated on July 21. On this day in the main square of Brussels, a military parade is organized, after which the festivities and performances of musicians begin here, and the holiday ends with a magnificent fireworks. On the Day of Belgium, the entrance to some museums of the country is completely free.
Carnival in Binshe
It is the most popular among the mass festivals of the Belgian people, and in the rating of European festivals second only to the Venice Festival. A carnival takes place in a small provincial town Binshe, not far from Brussels , annually before the Great Lent and lasts three days.
The first day is devoted to a theatrical performance with a procession through the city in carnival costumes. On the second day, the young people dance in the city center in the square, dividing themselves into groups in accordance with political views. At the end of the second day, colorful fireworks are released into the sky.
Finally, the third day of the carnival is the starry hour of the inhabitants. Participants in the carnival wear national costumes, and faces are covered with wax masks. The procession is sent to the city administration, scattering oranges along the way to viewers, to catch which is considered to be luck.
Feast of Ommegan
The second most popular among holidays in Belgium. This is a folklore festival, which runs from June 30 to July 2. It is noted Ommegang very long ago, its history dates back to the middle of the XIV century. Then it was a religious procession, and with the passage of ages Ommegan gained the status of a nationwide carnival celebration. The main Brussels Square becomes a medieval village, the entrance to which is possible only for persons dressed in a sixteenth-century costume. More than a thousand participants in the carnival depict members of the imperial family, court servants, soldiers, townspeople, etc. The end of the holiday is a universal procession of its participants and a grand concert.
Holiday of Dudu
It is held in Mons on the day of the Trinity and all the following week. This holiday is celebrated in honor of the victory over the disease of the plague, which struck the city in the middle of the XIV century. Then, in 1349, and organized the first religious procession, after which the plague receded, and the inhabitants of Mons were saved. In memory of their miraculous healing, people organize the annual Dudu festival, which is now a carefully organized and very spectacular theatrical performance.
Brussels Flower Carpet
"Flower carpet" refers to the number of holidays in Belgium, held in the summer, in August. The festival takes place every two years in the central square of Brussels Grand Place. On the days of the celebration, the square is a real carpet from the begonius variety "tuberose grandiflora", which are skillfully combined into a single whole with a system of fountains that support the freshness and fragrance of flowers. You can look at all this magnificence from the balcony of the Town Hall. The holiday ends with fireworks and a light and sound show.
Feast of the Holy Blood in Bruges
Belongs to the number of religious holidays in Belgium and again goes back deeply into the past. A huge procession of participants in the holiday, which makes tens of thousands of people, puts on the costumes of knights and monks. And the procession itself is a reminder of the time of the first crusades, at the end of which the Flemish Count was awarded as a reward a pitcher with the blood of Christ.
If you were lucky enough to get to Belgium during the holidays, be sure to take the opportunity to see the whole celebration with your own eyes - do not regret it!