Stavelot-Laetare © FTPL - P. Fagnoul
giant dolls, floats, dance groups, bands and two especially eyecatching creatures: a two-headed eagle and a magical horse. Could there be a sensible explanation for all this? This is Wallonia there is none. Since 1502, the town of Stavelot in the Ardennes has staged a carnival - the Laetare - on the fourth Sunday of Lent. Lent is a period of self-denial and, in some cases, fasting for Roman Catholics, and by the fourth Sunday they’re obviously in need of some light relief. Enter les blancs Moussis – scarylooking creatures wearing white, hooded costumes and masks with long, red, pointed noses. They do a bit of dancing, and hit anyone within range with inflated pigs’ bladders. In most years, more than 30,000 folk head into Stavelot (normal population 2,200) for the privilege
of possibly being struck by one. The highlight of the day is a fusillade of confetti, fired into the throng by cannons. It’s estimated that more than five tonnes of multi-coloured paper is used, and to keep the environmental lobby happy, all of it is recycled. Another more serious, more religious but equally spectacular procession – the Doudou - is held in Mons every Trinity Sunday, and is described in detail elsewhere in these pages. Separately, Mons contains one small but unique feature that perfectly illustrates Wallonia’s knack of creating a timeless legend out of, well, not very much. Outside the entrance to the Town Hall is the figure of an iron monkey, which is easy to miss unless you go looking for it. The monkey’s origins (surprise, surprise) are obscure, but locals insist that rubbing its head will bring you good
fortune and the granting of your most fervent wish. Over the centuries the monkey has been caressed so often by hopeful hands that its head has been polished to a sheen, which tells you that untold numbers of visitors have favoured tradition and superstition ahead of common sense. Does it work? Like so many Walloon legends, no one can say – but few are able to pass the monkey without rubbing its head, just in case it does. By Frank Partridge (pages 4-11)
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