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Folklore Of Belgium
The Folklore of Belgium is extremely diverse and reflects the rich legacy of cultural and religious influences which have acted on the region throughout its history, even before the establishment of the nation of Belgium in 1830. Much of Belgian folklore is unique to the region in which it is commemorated. Many aspects of folklore are manifested in public processions and parades in Belgian cities; traditions which are kept alive for the amusement of locals and tourists alike. The term ''folklore'' (which is rendered identically in both French and Dutch) is used in Belgium in a much wider sense than in English, chiefly to denote all cultural events open to the public such as traditional festivals and parades. Excluded from ''folklore'' are individual (not public) traditions, like the celebration of Easter, food (except if linked to a public cultural event), and events that saw their start only recently, including music festivals such as I Love Techno. Brussels Brussels' identity ...
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Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of . Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven. Belgium is a sovereign state and a federal constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system. Its institutional organization is complex and is structured on both regional ...
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Beech
Beech (''Fagus'') is a genus of deciduous trees in the family Fagaceae, native to temperate Europe, Asia, and North America. Recent classifications recognize 10 to 13 species in two distinct subgenera, ''Engleriana'' and ''Fagus''. The ''Engleriana'' subgenus is found only in East Asia, distinctive for its low branches, often made up of several major trunks with yellowish bark. The better known ''Fagus'' subgenus beeches are high-branching with tall, stout trunks and smooth silver-grey bark. The European beech (''Fagus sylvatica'') is the most commonly cultivated. Beeches are monoecious, bearing both male and female flowers on the same plant. The small flowers are unisexual, the female flowers borne in pairs, the male flowers wind-pollinating catkins. They are produced in spring shortly after the new leaves appear. The fruit of the beech tree, known as beechnuts or mast, is found in small burrs that drop from the tree in autumn. They are small, roughly triangular, and edible, w ...
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Folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging from traditional building styles common to the group. Folklore also includes customary lore, taking actions for folk beliefs, the forms and rituals of celebrations such as Christmas and weddings, folk dances and initiation rites. Each one of these, either singly or in combination, is considered a folklore artifact or traditional cultural expression. Just as essential as the form, folklore also encompasses the transmission of these artifacts from one region to another or from one generation to the next. Folklore is not something one can typically gain in a formal school curriculum or study in the fine arts. Instead, these traditions are passed along informally from one individual to another either through verbal instruction or demonstr ...
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Ros Beiaard Dendermonde
Ros Beiaard of Dendermonde is a large folkloristic horse. It differs from the other Ros-Beiaard horses because it is used only once every ten years and because the horse is carried by people. The Ros Beiaard is on UNESCO's list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity, under the "Processional giants and dragons in Belgium and France". The legend of Ros Beiaard * See: Ros Beiaard 't Peird van Dendermonde The Ros Beiaard of Dendermonde is carried through the town every ten years by a guild of bearers, called the 'Pijnders'. In keeping with the legend, four young brothers from Dendermonde (de Vier Heemskinderen) wearing full armour sit astride the horse. The legend of Ros Beiaard is acted out during the procession. Dimensions and weight From the ground to the tallest part of the head, the Ros Beiaard is 4.85 m high. If the decorations on top are added, the horse is 5.8 m high. From nose to tail, the Ros is 5.2 m long and the width is exa ...
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Vrije Universiteit Brussel
The Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB) () is a Dutch and English-speaking research university located in Brussels, Belgium.The Vrije Universiteit Brussel is one of the five universities officially recognised by the Flemish Community, Flemish government. listof all official institutes of higher education in Flanders is maintained by the Flemish government. It has four campuses: Brussels Humanities, Science and Engineering Campus (in Elsene), Brussels Health Campus (in Jette), Brussels Technology Campus (in Anderlecht) and Brussels Photonics Campus (in Gooik). The Vrije Universiteit Brussel was formed in 1970 by the splitting of the Free University of Brussels (1834–1969), Free University of Brussels, which was founded in 1834 by the Flemish-Brussels lawyer Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen. The founder aimed to establish a university wiktionary:independent, independent from state and church, where academic freedom would be prevalent. This is today still reflected in the university's mo ...
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St V
Saint V is the commonly used name for a holiday for freethinking university students in Brussels, Belgium, celebrating the founding of the Free University of Brussels. The day's long form (french: Saint-Verhaegen, nl, Sint-Verhaegen) differs in the two official languages, but both are a reference to Pierre-Théodore Verhaegen, the founder of the university, who notably is not a saint and was never canonized; the name was chosen to mock the ''Saint-Nicolas'' festivities of the rival Catholic University instead. The festivities take place on November 20, commemorating the anniversary of the university's official opening. It is celebrated by students of both the Université Libre de Bruxelles and the Vrije Universiteit Brussel, which officially separated in 1970. Origins The event dates back to November 20, 1888, when students of the university organized to protest a university reorganization that was perceived as undemocratic and against the principle of ("libre examen" in Fr ...
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Marionette
A marionette (; french: marionnette, ) is a puppet controlled from above using wires or strings depending on regional variations. A marionette's puppeteer is called a marionettist. Marionettes are operated with the puppeteer hidden or revealed to an audience by using a vertical or horizontal control bar in different forms of theatres or entertainment venues. They have also been used in films and on television. The attachment of the strings varies according to its character or purpose. Etymology In French, ''marionette'' means "little Mary". In France, during the Middle Ages, string puppets were often used to depict biblical events, with the Virgin Mary being a popular character, hence the name. In France, the word ''marionette'' can refer to any kind of puppet, but elsewhere it typically refers only to string puppets. History Ancient times Puppetry is an ancient form of performance. Some historians claim that they predate actors in theatre. There is evidence that they we ...
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Royal Theatre Toone
The Royal Theatre Toone (french: Théâtre royal de Toone, nl, Koninklijk Poppentheater Toone), often simply referred to as Toone, is a folkloric theatre of marionettes in central Brussels, Belgium, active since 1830, and the only traditional Brussels puppet theatre still in operation. Originally founded by Antoine "Toone" Genty in the Marolles/Marollen district of Brussels, since 1966, the theatre has been located at the end of two narrow alleyways, at 66, /, near the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square). The theatre's premises also house a tavern and a small puppetry museum. The current director is Nicolas Géal, also known as Toone VIII. The theatre still puts on puppet plays in the Brusselian dialect (also sometimes referred to as Marols or Marollien), the traditional Brabantian dialect of Brussels. Performances are also given in other languages interspersed with Brusselian, always in the spirit of '' zwanze'', a sarcastic form of folk humour considered typic ...
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Marols
Brusselian (also known as , , , or ) is a near-extinct dialect native to Brussels, Belgium. It is essentially a heavily- Francisized Brabantian Dutch dialect that incorporates a sprinkle of Spanish loanwords dating back to the rule of the Low Countries by the Habsburgs (1519–1713). Brusselian was widely spoken in the Marolles/Marollen neighbourhood of the City of Brussels until the 20th century. It still survives among a small minority of inhabitants called ''Brusseleers'' (or ''Brusseleirs''), many of them quite bi- and multilingual in French and Dutch. The Royal Theatre Toone, a folkloric theatre of marionettes in central Brussels, still puts on puppet plays in Brusselian. Toponymy The toponyms ' in Dutch or ' in French refer to the Marolles/Marollen, a neighbourhood of the City of Brussels, near the Palace of Justice, which itself takes its name from the former abbey of the Apostoline sisters, a religious group based in this area during the Middle Ages (from in Latin ...
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Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and transitioned into the Renaissance and the Age of Discovery. The Middle Ages is the middle period of the three traditional divisions of Western history: classical antiquity, the medieval period, and the modern period. The medieval period is itself subdivided into the Early, High, and Late Middle Ages. Population decline, counterurbanisation, the collapse of centralized authority, invasions, and mass migrations of tribes, which had begun in late antiquity, continued into the Early Middle Ages. The large-scale movements of the Migration Period, including various Germanic peoples, formed new kingdoms in what remained of the Western Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africa and the Middle East—most recently part of the Eastern Ro ...
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