Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1890-10-29
THE DANCING PROCESSION.
Description of Quaint Annual RelIg-
Ions Eafa m Eehatarnach.


Description of Quaint Annual RelIg-
iOus Fete at Echsternach.
While the Passion Play is going on at
Oberammergau there has been going on
in the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg the
annual dancing procession OF St Will.
brord, says the Brussels correspondent
of the New York Tribune. 1t occurred
at the small town of Echsternach on
May %, the Tuesday after Whitsuntide.
St Willibrord, who lived in the seventh
century, was to the Netherlands,
flemish and Lower Countries what St.
Patrick was to Ireland. He carried
the Christian faith to those regions,
civilized them as much as it was posi-
BILE in those barbarian times, and finally
sought rest for his last day at
Echsternach, where he founded
an abbey. The legend says that
when the saint died the marble tomb
prepared for receiving his body was
found to be too short; but that it was
miracu1ously heightened so that the
sanity corpse could be laid in it. Ira
dition claims that when St. Willibrord
returned at last from his holy pilgrim
age to Echsternach the villagers could
not restrain their JOY, and demonstrated
it by the sacred dances, which are re-
newed every year, two days after Whit
suntide. Only during the French revo-
luton was the custom interrupted. 1t
is now more than ever kept up, and
20. 600 people took part in the latest
ceremony. The peasants believe in the
legend. according to which the saint
A. 4 L.,
by inf1icting their cattle with an cpl
demic, the efforts of which are like
epilepsy.
The pilgrims arrive from all places
within radius of forty miles. Most of
them come on foot, camping wherever
they can, in open air or in barns. All
among them who possess and can play
upon musical instruments bring them
along, such as flies, drums, comets,
ETC., and play on them as an accom-
paniment to the dance. In the morn
ing all this crowd forms itself on the
German territory, beyond the bridge
which crosses the Sure, the river front.
Ter between the Grand Duchy and Ger
many. A priest, who must have been
born at Echsternach, addresses the
crowd, places himself at its head, and
the pilgrims begin to tramp on the
bridge in the direction Of the old church.
The advance guard; preceded by sex
ton dressed in red clerical robes, sings
praises or litanies of st. Willibrord in g
calm, dignifled religious tone which
strangely contrasts with the clamor Of
the thousand instruments which &C
company the extraordinary dance:
of the people forming the bulk of the
procession. Those dances are nothing
but repeated jumps; and the highesr
jumps are considered the greatest evil
dence of devotion. The pilgrims ad
vance slowly in rows, blocking up en-
tirely the streets, women holding chill
dren in their arms, old people being
supported on both sides by friendly as
sistants, peasants with satchels OF
their backs, containing provisions tc
last during the pilgrimage. All these
people never cease for moment tt
dance or rather to jump as high as they
can until they reach the old church
where the priests bless the many ar tt
cles they want to place under St. Will
brord's s. invocation. The pilgrims spend
the remainder of the day in the streets
| of Echsternach, where a regular fete
somewhat like Flemish kermesse, i:
held. They then take up again theil
| tramp to their homes