Kermesse
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kermesse (also Kermis), originally the mass said on the anniversary of the foundation of a church and in honour of the patron, the word being equivalent to Kirkmass.
Such celebrations were regularly held in the Low Countries and also in northern France, and were accompanied by feasting, dancing and sports of all kinds. They still survive in the form of funfairs, but the old allegorical representations are now uncommon.
The Brussels Kermesse is, however, still marked by a procession in which the effigies of the Mannikin and medieval heroes are carried. At Mons the Ducasse (local word for Kermesse) occurs annually on Trinity Sunday and is called the procession of Lumeçon (Walloon for limaçon, a snail): the hero is Gilles de Chin, who slays a terrible monster, captor of a princess, in the Grand Place. This is the story of George and the Dragon.
At Hasselt the Kermesse (now only septennial) not only commemorates the Christian story of the foundation of the town, but even preserves traces of a pagan festival.
The Dutch-American Village of Little Chute, Wisconsin has celebrated Kermis annually since 1981. Another American polity that celebrates this holiday is La Kermesse of Biddeford, Maine.
Oil on canvas, 157 x 221 cm Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels
[edit] Impact on other languages
The word Kermesse (generally in the form Kirmess) is applied in the United States to any entertainment, especially one organized in the interest of charity.
The word also entered the Belarussian language as "кiрмаш" (kirmash) in the meaning of "fair".
In the Turkish language "kermes" is a sale of ladies' handiwork for charity.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Demetrius C Boulger, Belgian Life in Town and Country (1904).
- This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
- Dutch Americans”, Herbert J. Brinks, http://www.everyculture.com/multi/Du-Ha/Dutch-Americans.html
