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Kattenstoet
The (lit. 'Festival of the Cats') is a parade in Ypres, Belgium, devoted to the cat. 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 which cats were allegedly thrown from the belfry tower of the Cloth Hall to the town square below. Background There are various legends about how the story of the throwing of cats originated. One possibility is that cats were connected to witchcraft, and the throwing of the cats symbolised the killing of evil spirits. Another story suggests that the cats were brought into the Cloth Hall (''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 A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is design ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kattenstoet After Ww2
The (lit. 'Festival of the Cats') is a parade in Ypres, Belgium, devoted to the cat. 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 which cats were allegedly thrown from the bell tower, belfry tower of the Cloth Hall, Ypres, Cloth Hall to the town square below. Background There are various legends about how the story of the throwing of cats originated. One possibility is that cats were connected to witchcraft, and the throwing of the cats symbolised the killing of evil spirits. Another story suggests that the cats were brought into the Cloth Hall, Ypres, Cloth Hall (''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 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ypres
Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) 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 comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote. Together, they are home to about 34,900 inhabitants. During the First World War, Ypres (or "Wipers" as it was commonly known by the British troops) was the centre of the Battles of Ypres between German and Allied forces. History Origins Ypres is an ancient town, known to have been raided by the Romans in the first century BC. It is first mentioned by name in 1066 and is probably named after the river Ieperlee on the banks of which it was founded. During the Middle Ages, Ypres was a prosperous Flemish city with a population of 40,000 in 1200 AD, renowned for its linen trade with England, which w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cats In Popular Culture
The cultural depiction of cats and their relationship to humans is old and stretches back over 9,500 years. Cats are featured in the history of many nations, are the subject of legend, and are a favourite subject of artists and writers. History While the exact history of human interaction with cats is still somewhat vague, a shallow grave site discovered in 1983 in Cyprus, dating to 7500 BCE, during the Neolithic period, contains the skeleton of a human, buried ceremonially with stone tools, a lump of iron oxide, and a handful of seashells. In its own tiny grave 40 centimeters (18 inches) from the human grave was an eight-month-old cat, its body oriented in the same westward direction as the human skeleton. Cats are not native to Cyprus. This is evidence that cats were being tamed just as humankind was establishing the first settlements in the part of the Middle East known as the Fertile Crescent. The lineage of today's cats stems from about 4500 BC and came from Europe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cat-burning
Cat burning was a form of cruelty to animals as an entertainment or festivity in Western and Central Europe prior to the 1800s. People would gather cats and hoist them onto a bonfire causing death by burning or otherwise through the effects of exposure to extreme heat. In the medieval to early modern periods, cats, which were associated with vanity and witchcraft, were sometimes burned as symbols of the devil. Descriptions In 1758, the Benedictine Dom Jean François wrote a dissertation on cat burning in Metz, France. According to historian Norman Davies, the burning of cats was an attraction at the Midsummer's Fair in 16th century Paris. He describes a celebration where a stage was built so the celebrants could lower a net containing dozens of cats into a bonfire. This phenomenon was also described in '' The Great Cat Massacre'', a collection of essays by American historian Robert Darnton: Other historians including Roger Chartier and Harold Mah have criticized Darnt ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hae Nang Maew
The ceremony of ''Hae Nang Maew'' (; ; 'Procession of Lady Cat') is a traditional folklore rainmaking ritual cat procession which can be seen in Cambodia as well as Central and Northeast Thailand in times of drought, from May until August. Description The rainmaking ritual of ''Hae Nang Maew'' is mostly done by farmers in the central and northeast region of Thailand. It is also celebrated in Cambodia, though it is unclear where the rite originated, whether it be in the Angkorian civilization for centuries or more recently in Laos. Sisawat Siamese cats or otherwise black cats are selected and put in a bamboo or rattan baskets covered with a lid to avoid the cat from escaping. Cloud-colored or black cats are preferred as they are thought to bring fortune. The basket is hung to a wooden or bamboo pole carried by two porters. Five pairs of candles and five paired flowers. The eldest among the ritual performers kicks off the procession by asking the cat to provide rain for the lan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cloth Hall, Ypres
The Cloth Hall ( or ) is a large cloth hall, a medieval commercial building, in Ypres, Belgium. The original structure was erected mainly between 1200 and 1304, in the Gothic style. It was one of the largest commercial buildings of the Middle Ages, when it served as the main market and warehouse for the Flemish city's prosperous cloth industry. At in breadth, with a -high belfry tower, it recalls the importance and wealth of the medieval trade city. The hall lay in ruins after artillery fire devastated Ypres in World War I. Between 1933 and 1967, it was meticulously reconstructed to its prewar condition, under the guidance of architects J. Coomans and P. A. Pauwels. The building now houses the In Flanders Fields Museum. In 1999, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Belfries of Belgium and France site, in recognition of their unique architecture, role in the advancement of civil liberties, and their civic, not religious, influence. History Medieval ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cat Folklore
The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the domestication of the cat occurred in the Near East around 7500 BC. It is commonly kept as a pet and working cat, but also ranges freely as a feral cat avoiding human contact. It is valued by humans for companionship and its ability to kill vermin. Its retractable claws are adapted to killing small prey species such as mice and rats. It has a strong, flexible body, quick reflexes, and sharp teeth, and its night vision and sense of smell are well developed. It is a social species, but a solitary hunter and a crepuscular predator. Cat intelligence is evident in their ability to adapt, learn through observation, and solve problems. Research has shown they possess strong memories, exhibit neuroplasticity, and display cognitive skills comp ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witchcraft
Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meaning. According to ''Encyclopedia Britannica'', "Witchcraft thus defined exists more in the imagination", but it "has constituted for many cultures a viable explanation of evil in the world". The belief in witches has been found throughout history in a great number of societies worldwide. Most of these societies have used Apotropaic magic, protective magic or counter-magic against witchcraft, and have shunned, banished, imprisoned, physically punished or killed alleged witches. Anthropologists use the term "witchcraft" for similar beliefs about harmful occult practices in different cultures, and these societies often use the term when speaking in English. Belief in witchcraft as malevolent magic is attested from #Ancient Mesopotamian religion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Witch Hunt
A witch hunt, or a witch purge, is a search for people who have been labeled witches or a search for evidence of witchcraft. Practicing evil spells or Incantation, incantations was proscribed and punishable in early human civilizations in the Middle East. In medieval Europe, witch-hunts often arose in connection to charges of heresy from Christianity. An Witch trials in the early modern period, intensive period of witch-hunts occurring in Early Modern Europe and to a smaller extent European Colonization of the Americas, Colonial America, took place from about 1450 to 1750, spanning the upheavals of the Counter Reformation and the Thirty Years' War, resulting in an estimated 35,000 to 60,000 executions. The last executions of people convicted as witches in Europe took place in the 18th century. In other regions, like Africa and Asia, contemporary witch-hunts have been reported from sub-Saharan Africa and Papua New Guinea, and official legislation against witchcraft is still foun ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly 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 centralised 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—once part of the Byzantine Empire� ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Animal Cruelty Incidents
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a hollow sphere of cells, the blastula, during embryonic development. Animals form a clade, meaning that they arose from a single common ancestor. Over 1.5 million living animal species have been described, of which around 1.05 million are insects, over 85,000 are molluscs, and around 65,000 are vertebrates. It has been estimated there are as many as 7.77 million animal species on Earth. Animal body lengths range from to . They have complex ecologies and interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs. The scientific study of animals is known as zoology, and the study of animal behaviour is known as ethology. The animal kingdom is divided into five major clades, namely Porifera, Ctenophora, Placozoa, C ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bell Tower
A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell towers, often part of a municipal building, an educational establishment, or a tower built specifically to house a carillon. Church bell towers often incorporate clocks, and secular towers usually do, as a public service. The term campanile (, also , ), from the Italian ''campanile'', which in turn derives from ''campana'', meaning "bell", is synonymous with ''bell tower''; though in English usage campanile tends to be used to refer to a free standing bell tower. A bell tower may also in some traditions be called a belfry, though this term may also refer specifically to the substructure that houses the bells and the ringers rather than the complete tower. The tallest free-standing bell tower in the world, high, is the Mortegliano Bell To ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
