Joy in the Journey: Holy Blood Procession

Today we went to Brugge to witness the famous Holy Blood Procession. During the crusades, a vial of Christ's coagulated blood (pictured above) was rescued from Constantinople and sent to Jerusalem. There, this relic was given to a Flemish man who had fought valiantly during the crusades. He took the relic back to Brugge in 1150 and built a church in it's honor. This relic is still in Brugge and is still venerated by throngs of people. In 1339 the pope told the Catholics to honor the relic and since then, for the past 700+ years, the city of Brugge has hosted a procession on Ascension day (40 days after Easter, when Christ ascended to heaven).

This parade is a huge production - elaborate costumes, horse-drawn floats, etc. The entire procession summerizes the old testement, new testement, and then the story of how the relic came to Brugge.

Our day began with the 1.5 hour drive to Brugge where we bought our tickets so that we could view the parade from front-row benches. The sky was cloudy and dark but we were hopeful.

Here are the kids by a canal while we waited for dad to buy our tickets:

Before we could find a park to eat our lunch, the rain began. It was a torrential downpour that lasted for two straight hours. We later found out that the procession was almost cancelled. We found a tiny roof overhang over some steps where we huddled for our lunch. Later we tried to keep the kids entertained without getting too wet. It was hopeless. Later we found a little gazebo to hide under. We decided to share our umbrella with the cheribs. (Note to self: one umbrella is not enough for 6 people!)

Emily gave up and just played in the rain:

Katie tried real hard to be a good girl but we were totally unprepared.

We made our way to our benches and then.... FINALLY, the rain stopped. We were THIS close to going home.

While we waited for the procession to start, Emily and Clark explored the canal behind the road. They played a game where they would see how many people they could get to wave back at them on each passing tourist boat.

Katie and I tested the parade route. Notice my totally messed up hair from the rain. I had curled it in the morning - what a waste of time!

But then, just before the parade started ANOTHER downpour passed over! It was so intense, like someone put us under a showerhead. Everyone was laughing because it was just so sudden and strong. We got soaked.

Finally, 30 minutes late, the procession started. It was incredible. It was touching to see an entire town participating in a religious celebration, enacting the scenes of Christ's life. Here are a few still shots from the parade (don't forget you can click on them to make them bigger).

Joseph in Egypt Palm leaves in Jersalem