The 643rd edition of the Krakelingen pageant took place in Geraardsbergen in the Flemish Ardennes at the weekend. The practice of drinking living fish was discontinued this year after criticism from animal rights' campaigners. For the first time, the drinking of living fish has been replaced by a “suitable alternative”: catching fish from the pond, placing them in a jar and displaying them on top of Mount Oudenberg in the four directions of the compass. “This way, we can preserve the essence of the ritual: the symbol of new life,” the organisers say.
Geraardsbergen ends practice of drinking living fish during Krakelingen pageant
Colin Clapson
Published:
Traditionally, the dean, the mayor, the aldermen and councillors of Geraardsbergen (East Flanders) drank a sip of wine with a living fish from a 400-year-old silver cup at this Krakelingen festival, named after the crackly bread rolls that are carried in the procession.
This ritual symbolises the renewal of nature, because the fish live at the bottom of ponds during the winter and only come to the surface in spring. Wine, bread (the krakelingen bread rolls) and fire are the other symbolic core elements of the tradition.
Now, for the first time, fish were taken from the pond and placed in a jar and carried to the top of Mount Oudenberg, a local hill. There, the druids show them the four directions of the compass. ‘At least this way we don't lose the symbolism,’ says Mayor Fernand Van Trimpont. ‘We are preserving the essence of the ritual: the symbol of new life, the connection between humans and nature, and hope at the beginning of spring.’
For the first time, more than 1,000 people took part in the event. The procession also carried 4,000 ‘krakelingen’: bread rolls with a hole in the middle that crack when you break them. Once at the top of Mount Oudenberg, they are thrown below. Anyone who finds a note in their krakeling wins a golden version of the bread roll.