Friday 3 June 2011

Procession of the Holy Blood, Brugge

Each year on Ascension Day in Brugge (which was yesterday) there is the “Procession of the Holy Blood” which is a huge parade that dates back to the Middle Ages. The event is even protected by the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The parade that tells biblical and historical stories and runs over several hours with thousands of participants. About every 30 meters the procession went, the stories were retold and a play enacted. It was superbly done.

Camera in hand we sat on the ground whilst almost everybody else was very civilised on lovely dining chairs and took lots of shots. Yep, we got a few strange looks.

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As each part of the story was told, a number was held up for people to follow if they had a programme.

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There were even sheep and camels as part of the procession!

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The holy blood was also part of the parade.

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The procession was very well done and thoroughly recommended.

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