The (lit. 'Festival of the Cats') is a parade in

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality c ...

, Belgium, devoted to the

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

. It has been running regularly since 1955 and is usually held triennially on the second Sunday of May. The parade commemorates an Ypres tradition from 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 ...

in which cats were thrown from the belfry tower of the

Cloth Hall A cloth hall or linen hall (german: Gewandhaus; pl, Sukiennice; french: Halle aux draps; nl, Lakenhal) is a historic building located in the centre of the main marketplace of a European town. Cloth halls were built from medieval times into the 18 ...

to the town square below.

Background

There are various legends about how the throwing of cats originated. One possibility is that cats were connected to

witchcraft Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have ...

, and the throwing of the cats symbolised the killing of evil spirits. The last recorded event of this kind was in 1817. Another story suggests that the cats were brought into the

(''Lakenhallen'') to control vermin. Before modern heating and storage methods, when it got cold the wool was stored in the upper floors of the Cloth Hall. At the start of the spring warm-up, after the wool had been sold, the cats were tossed out of the bell tower.

Modern festival

Symbolically reviving this practice for the parade festivities, a jester tosses plush children's-toy cats from the Cloth Hall belfry down to the crowd, which awaits with outstretched arms to catch one. The throwing of the cats from the belfry is followed by a mock

witch burning A witch-hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. The Witch trials in the early modern period, classical period of witch-hunts in Early Modern Europe and European Colon ...

. Participants in the festivities often dress as cats, witches, mice, or townspeople from ages past, and the festival also features brass bands and people riding on horseback. Around 2,000 people participated in the 2012 parade. The festival is a popular tourist event in Belgium and has helped strengthen the local tourist economy around Ypres. 8,000 people visited the event in 2000.

References

External links

{{commons
Official festival website
- City of Ieper Animal cruelty incidents Cats in popular culture Parades in Belgium Tourist attractions in West Flanders Ypres Belgian folklore Spring (season) events in Belgium Triennial events Cat folklore

Background

Modern festival

See also

References

External links