Kattenstoet
Ypres, Belgium
About
Kattenstoet, [5]. A parade in Ypres devoted to the cat. It is held every third year on the second Sunday of May. Most recently, the 42nd ion took place on May 10, 2009. This "Festival of the Cats" commemorates an Ypres tradition from the Middle Ages in which cats were thrown from the belfry tower of the Cloth Hall to the town square below. Symbolically reviving this practice for the parade festivities, a jester tosses stuffed toy cats from the Cloth Hall belfry down to the crowd, which awaits with outstretched arms to catch one. The throwing of the cats from the belfry is followed by a mock witch burning.
