The Emaischen festival is celebrated every Easter Monday in the village of

Nospelt Nospelt () is a village in the commune of Kehlen, in south-western Luxembourg. , the village had a population of 1,241. It is known above all for its potters who were particularly successful during the 19th century. Location Nospelt lies 15&nb ...

in the south of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

as well as in the

Fish Market A fish market is a marketplace for selling Fish as food, fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between Fisherman, fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish ma ...

in the

City of Luxembourg Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

. The festival has been celebrated in its current form since 1957. Little earthenware whistles shaped like birds and known as ''peckvillercher'' are a special feature of the event. The modern celebration involves the purchase of whistles, a craft fair and food stalls.

History

The Emaischen festival is celebrated every Easter Monday in the village of

in the south of

as well as in the

in the

. Little earthenware whistles shaped like birds and known as ''peckvillercher'' are a special feature of the event, as they are made locally and only sold on that day. Some have said that traditionally the whistles were exchanged between lovers but today they are popular with all those taking part in the celebrations."The whistles of Luxembourg"
Sifflets-en-terre-cuite. Retrieved 21 February 2011 Nospelt used to be a village of potters who would make the little birds from the small amounts of clay left over at the end of the day. Today's Nospelt festival only goes back to 1957 when the potters once again began making the whistles, with a new design each year. The celebrations in Luxembourg's old town were revived in 1937 by Jean Peters, a ceramic artist from Reckental, who started making whistles from the red clay of Nospelt. With a wide range of attractions and games, the Emaischen is particularly popular with children. There is also folk-dancing, a craft fair in the streets and food stalls. The origins of the festival are not too clear but there may be a connection with the Biblical reference to a potter in the

Book of Jeremiah The Book of Jeremiah () is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. The superscription at chapter Jeremiah 1#Superscription, Jeremiah 1:1–3 identifies the book as "th ...

, Chapter 18. In any case, there seem to have been several breaks in the tradition.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Eemaischen, Emaischen Tourist attractions in Luxembourg Festivals in Luxembourg Spring (season) in Luxembourg