The Meyboom plantation (or Meiboom in Dutch, "May tree" – a bastardisation of the Dutch ''tree of joy'') is the oldest tradition in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium, attested since 1308. It is held every year on 9 August, the eve of St Lawrence's Day, and consists mainly in planting a

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 ''Engle ...

at the intersection of the / and the / in the

City of Brussels The City of Brussels (french: Ville de Bruxelles or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' ; nl, Stad Brussel or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well a ...

' Marais–Jacqmain District. It is accompanied by processions and various folk activities during the day. The celebration is reminiscent of Brussels' long-standing (folkloric) feud with

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

, which dates back to the

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 a ...

. Following a friendly incident in 1974 in which the Meyboom was stolen and brought to Leuven, both cities have claimed to be planting the "real" Meyboom. Since 2008, it is recognised as a

Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity The Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity was made by the Director-General of UNESCO starting in 2001 to raise awareness of intangible cultural heritage and encourage local communities to protect them and th ...

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

History

According to tradition, the celebration commemorates a victory of Brussels over the nearby

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

town of

in 1213. The ''Companions of St Lawrence'', a city

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

, came to the aid of Brussels' inhabitants and vigorously repelled the aggressor. Grateful, the

Duke of Brabant The Duke of Brabant (, ) was the ruler of the Duchy of Brabant since 1183/1184. The title was created by the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa in favor of Henry I of the House of Reginar, son of Godfrey III of Leuven (who was duke of Low ...

at the time ( Henri I of Brabant), granted the status of corporation to the guild and gave it the right to plant henceforth a tree of joy or ''Meyboom''. In honour of the new corporation, the date of the plantation was fixed to 9 August, the eve of St Lawrence's Day, the guild's

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

. In spite of Brussels' tortuous history, including the 20th-century demolition of most of the Marais–Jacqmain District, the Meyboom tradition has been maintained throughout the centuries. An incident happened, however, in 1974, when a group of men from

, called ''The Men Of 1929'', managed to find out which tree Brussels had earmarked as their Meyboom. During the night of 8 August, they cut down the tree and transported it to Leuven, where they planted it in front of the

city hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. Brussels chose to ignore what had happened and cut down another tree. Ever since, the two cities have been involved in a friendly rivalry to decide who has the "real" Meyboom.''Meibomen in Brussel en Leuven probleemloos geplant'', ''Het Laatste Nieuws'', 9 August 2014 Since 2008, the Meyboom has been recognised as a

, as part of the binational listing of '

Processional giants and dragons in Belgium and France The processional giants and dragons (french: Géants et dragons processionnels) of Belgium and France are a set of folkloric manifestations involving processional giants, which have been inscribed by UNESCO on the lists of Intangible Cultural ...

Celebrations

The tree is designated by the city's Plantation Department and "chosen" by the ''Companions of St Lawrence'' in the

Sonian Forest The Sonian Forest or Sonian Wood ( nl, Zoniënwoud, french: Forêt de Soignes, ) is a forest at the southeast edge of Brussels, Belgium. The Sonian Forest was a favorite hunting ground of the Habsburg Imperial family, and as such features promi ...

, in the outskirts of Brussels. According to tradition, it must weigh at least , measure in height and be leafy. It is cut and then transported by ''Bûûmdroegers'' ("tree bearers") through the municipalities of

Schaerbeek (French language, French and History of Dutch orthography, archaic Dutch, ) or (contemporary Dutch language, Dutch, ) is one of the List of municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, 19 municipalities of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Re ...

Saint-Josse-ten-Noode Saint-Josse-ten-Noode () or Sint-Joost-ten-Node (), often simply called Saint-Josse or Sint-Joost, is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the north-eastern part of the region, it is bordered by the Ci ...

and the

. The procession is accompanied by a

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

, ''Poepedroegers'' ("giant puppet bearers"), the Wheel of Fortune, ''Kêrstoempers'' ("cart pushers"), ''Meybloemekes'' ("flower-handing women"), as well as ''Gardevils'' ("city guards") since 2001. At 1 p.m., a tribute is paid to the deceased ''Companions''. The procession then forms at the corner of the / and the / (near the local brotherhood of the ''Companions'', at 37, /), and sets off along a fixed route through the /, the /, the /, the /, the /, the /, the /, the /, before arriving at the Grand-Place/Grote Markt (Brussels' main square). At 2.45 p.m., the procession returns from the Grand-Place via the /, the /, the /, the /, the /, and finally returns to the corner of the / and the / around 4.30 p.m. Along the way, small branches of the tree are distributed, supposed to bring good fortune for the year to come. The culmination is the plantation itself, which must take place before 5 p.m. to avoid a victory from the "Louvanistes" (i.e. Leuven's inhabitants). The tree is in fact not really planted but stuck in the ground and removed the next day. File:Meyboom Schaerbeek Rue-Joseph-Coosemans 2008-08-09.jpg, A halt in

for the procession of the Meyboom in 2008 File:GeantsMeyboom2.jpg,

Processional giant Processional giants, french: géants processionnels, es, gigantes y cabezudos, va, gegants i cabuts, ca, gegants i capgrossos, eu, erraldoi eta buruhandiak are costumed figures in European folklore, particularly present in Culture of Bel ...

s of the Meyboom File:Meyboom geants1.jpg, Processional giants of the Meyboom File:Manneken Pis in giant Janneke costume, Brussels, Belgium - Stierch.jpg, ''

Manneken Pis ''Manneken Pis'' (; ) is a landmark bronze fountain sculpture in central Brussels, Belgium, depicting a puer mingens; a naked little boy urinating into the fountain's basin. Though its existence is attested as early as the 15th century, it wa ...

'' during the Meyboom File:Bruxelles rue du Meiboom 1001.jpg, Wall plaque at the corner of the Rue des Sables and the Rue du Meyboom

References

Notes

Bibliography

* {{cite book, last1=Henne, first1=Alexandre, last2=Wauters, first2=Alphonse, title=Histoire de la ville de Bruxelles, volume=1, location=Brussels, language=fr, publisher=Périchon, year=1845, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u_pAAAAAcAAJ Culture in Brussels History of Brussels Parades in Belgium Tourist attractions in Brussels City of Brussels Annual events in Brussels Summer events in Belgium Belgian folklore

History

Celebrations

See also

References

Notes

Bibliography