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Religious festival · Bruges
On Ascension Day, the relic of the Holy Blood is carried out of the basilica on Burg Square and processes through Bruges’ medieval centre in a parade with biblical scenes, singing, music and horses, an intangible UNESCO heritage event.
In the photo: Bruges
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Procession of the Holy Blood — Bruges
On Ascension Day, a Thursday forty days after Easter, in May or early June.
May/June
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
The relic of the Holy Blood has been in Bruges since the early 13th century and is kept in the Heilig-Bloedbasiliek, the two-storey basilica on Burg Square. The procession in its honour is documented from 1304 and is held every year on Ascension Day. Many locals still call it the most beautiful day in Bruges. Since 2009 it has been on UNESCO’s list of intangible cultural heritage.
The procession is divided into sections. The first ones recount stories from the Old and New Testaments, from the Nativity in Bethlehem to Pentecost, with participants in period costume, floats, choirs, musicians, dancers and animals. Another section reenacts the legend that Thierry of Alsace, Count of Flanders, brought the relic from Jerusalem. At the end, members of the Noble Brotherhood of the Holy Blood accompany the reliquary carried through the streets.
The procession begins in the early afternoon near the Dijver and follows the streets of the historic centre, a UNESCO World Heritage site, moving in silence and reverence when the reliquary passes. At the end there is a closing ceremony on Burg Square, followed by veneration of the relic in the basilica. The organisers revise some scenes each year to keep the tradition alive.
For the traveller, it is an opportunity to see Bruges staged with a tradition that mixes faith, history and street theatre, with thousands of participants from the city and surrounding area.
The passage of the reliquary, accompanied by the brotherhood, at the end of the procession. The scenes depicting the relic’s arrival in Bruges. The closing ceremony on Burg Square and the veneration in the Heilig-Bloedbasiliek.
The procession takes place in the afternoon; choose a spot along the route in advance, because the sidewalks fill up. There are grandstands with reserved seats along the route, sold by the organisers. Bruges’ centre is compact and walkable; arrive by train, as traffic is diverted. Ascension Day is a public holiday in Belgium, and the city receives many visitors.
Book accommodation well in advance, especially for the night before. seats in the grandstands also sell out; buy them on the official website. Check the route and start time published each year.
In the city
May/June
May/JuneOn the weekend of the Holy Trinity, the Sunday after Pentecost, between May and June, depending on the date of Easter.
On Trinity weekend, Mons carries the relic of Saint Waltrude on a gilded carriage through the streets and stages the Lumeçon, Saint George’s fight with the dragon, on the Grand-Place.
MayEvery three years, on the second Sunday in May. · Every three years
Every three years, on the second Sunday in May, Ypres celebrates cats with the Kattenstoet, a parade of floats, giants and costumes that culminates with the town jester throwing stuffed cats from the Lakenhalle bell tower.
June/JulyOver two nights between late June and early July.
On two early-summer nights, the Ommegang brings hundreds of participants in 16th-century costumes from the Sablon to Brussels’ Grand-Place, recreating the celebration held for Emperor Charles V in 1549.
Your questions
On Ascension Day, forty days after Easter, on a Thursday in May or early June. The procession sets off in the afternoon.
In the Heilig-Bloedbasiliek, the basilica on Burg Square in central Bruges. The relic can be seen during veneration times throughout the year.
Yes. UNESCO added the Procession of the Holy Blood to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2009.
Festivals and events in Belgium
June/JulyFor four days, from Thursday to Sunday, on the weekend that closes June or opens July.
Rock Werchter brings together rock, pop, indie and electronic music over four days at Festivalpark in Werchter, in the municipality of Rotselaar, near Leuven, at the start of summer.
February/MarchFrom Carnival Sunday to Shrove Tuesday, the three days before Ash Wednesday, in February or March depending on the date of Easter.
The Binche carnival, in the province of Hainaut, culminates on Shrove Tuesday with the Gilles, figures wearing wax masks and ostrich-feather hats who dance through the streets to the sound of drums and throw oranges to the crowd.
February/MarchFrom Saturday to midnight on Fat Tuesday, before the start of Lent, in February or March, depending on the date of Easter.
The Cwarmê is Malmedy’s carnival, in the Ardennes: four days when masked figures such as the Haguètes take to the streets, everything is spoken and sung in Walloon, up to the burning of the Haguète on the final night.
March/AprilOn Laetare Sunday, the fourth Sunday of Lent, three weeks before Easter, in March or early April; from Saturday to Monday.
Three weeks before Easter, Stavelot celebrates Laetare with the Blancs Moussis, figures dressed in white with long red-nosed masks who go through the town throwing confetti at the crowd.
JulyIn July, usually in the second half of the month, over several days depending on each edition's format.
The Francofolies de Spa take over the center of the spa town in July, with francophone music concerts on outdoor stages in the Parc de Sept Heures and in venues such as the Casino.
JulyFor ten days in July, including Belgium’s national holiday on July 21.
For ten days in July, the Gentse Feesten spread concerts, street theatre, puppetry and bars across the squares and quays of Ghent’s historic centre.