Belgian festival-goers are furious after the government banned an ancient tradition which involves drinking from a goblet of wine containing live fish.
For over 600 years the town of Geraardsbergen has celebrated the arrival of spring by hosting the Krakelingen festival, an annual celebration involving costumed parades, ancient rituals and a series of bizarre local traditions.
The centrepiece of the festival, which began in 1413, involves local druids throwing ring-shaped bread crackers off the top of the historic Oudenberg Hill following a colourful parade.
But just before they commence with the tossing, the druids drink wine from a goblet containing live fish swimming around, which has now been banned by the government under a new animal welfare law.
The ban, which came into effect last summer, has sparked fury among traditionalists, who took to the streets this weekend waving placards reading ‘I want fish’ and accusing the authorities of destroying a centuries-old cultural tradition without consultation.
‘The regulation was approved without us ever being heard,’ local alderman Ann Panis told the Sunday Times while dressed in traditional garb.
Geraardsbergen’s mayor Fernand Van Trimpont also joined the protest in his ceremonial attire, vowing to fight to reinstate the practice.
‘Flanders must take into account cultural-historical arguments. We therefore hope that our protest will be picked up so that the regulation can be changed,’ he told the outlet.
The tradition has long faced opposition from Gaia, Belgium’s largest animal rights organisation, who claim the practice is cruel and have promised to take legal action against anyone caught drinking the fish.
‘Traditions are no excuse for animal suffering,’ said Gaia chairman Michel Vandenbosch. ‘The ban on drinking fish must be observed everywhere in Geraardsbergen. We will file a complaint with the judicial authorities and the Flemish animal welfare inspection service against violations.’
The fish-swilling tradition is intended to symbolise the transition from winter to spring as gudgeon, small freshwater fish, rise to the surface of ponds after winter as spring begins.
Over time the gudgeon have been replaced by much smaller fish typically used as aquarium feed, and the wriggling drink has been restricted to the town worthies, led by the mayor.
In 1608, Flemish Renaissance poet Josse Schollaert described the ritual as: ‘The lonely gudgeon playfully seeks a way and hides in the stomach of prominent people.’
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