BELGIAN MARRIAGE FAIR

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 5, Issue 147, 18 February 1916, Page 3 (Supplement)

BELGIAN MARRIAGE FAIR

AIDS FOII BASHjvIL BACHELORS

Of the many quaint Belgian customs existing up to the t me of the war. not the least interesting was the Husband Fair celebrated yearly at EcaussinnesLalaing. Dating from the time when the Sceneries of the Comtes de La la ng and the Dues de C'roy yet flourished, it had been the custom in this small Belgian town for a young man to declare his love to the maid of his choice by plant, ing a silver birch-tree on the last night of April. In exchange the young girl then offered him a repast, spreading the viands on a table beneath the tree. In the course of time this custom died out. and the would-be Benedicts becoming more and more scarce, the energetic matrons of EcaussinnesLalaing hit upon the happy idea of a marriage fair. Their method was to send out invitations to all the bachelors of the surrounding country, ottering them a sumptuous dinner in the open air and the privilege of choosing amongst the daughters of Ec-aussinnes-Lalaing the bride which they most admired. The feast was prepared and cooked by the would-be brides, and the suitors had, therefore, some chance of estimating the r culinary skill. For fully a week each year before the great event, the Husband Fair is announced on hoardings all over the country side, and prospectuses are distributed broadcast, lauding the blessings of domestic life and the joys of paternity. In the streets and on the Market Place triumphal arches of flowers and evergreens are erected, with floating banners, bearing such devices as " W eleome to the Bachelors," and "We offer you our hearts." Precisely at ten a.m., to a fanfare of trumpets and lively music from the local band, the cortege of bachelors proceeds to the Maine to sign the "livre d'or," or "golden book," in which each man signs his name. The cortege then continues its march, visiting the sights and various euriosit es of the district. The afternoon is spent in the ceremony of introductions and the defile of those who have made their choice. By this time the procession is swelled by the invited guests and the train of onlookers. and the whole party proceeds to the Market Place, where the tables groan under a feast of good things, this repast can only bo partaken by those who have signed their names in the "golden book." After the feast, during which a respectable number < 1 petit verres" have been emptied othe famous beverage peculiar to the country, known as "genievre," the president, a charming young girl, makes a speech, in wlrcli she bids the bachelors welcome, and calls upon them to propose marriage. Amid great npp'ause the men make their choice. In the evening concerts and a ball conclude the fete. Strange as it may found, it is said that the happiest marriages are supposed to be made at the Husband Fair.