Tervuren Local Customs

A more pleasant local custom is using the lovely area as a background for wedding photography. Not only we were lucky with the weather that day, the company and the couple who were there taking the pictures of their lives, could not dream of a better day.
My favourite was the lady with the hat, which is why I chose this picture.
While the guys are talking about careers and business and the marrying couple is thinking of the pictures and the right pose, this lady seems to let herself been carried away in day dreaming.

One should almost think it is a local custom of Belgians to fight and argue about who is paying for what or has the duty to maintain certain property.
A Brussels or Wallonian angling club explored the canal at the left side of the water and normally they could use the water for 100 years. But then half of it became Flemish federal property. Flanders removed the angling club and they were very much protesting. Flanders began to clean up the water way and found meters of river mud. The water never ever got cleaned. The shores were damaged as well. They used the mud to fix the shores again and you see the nice result at the left picture.
However, the right picture shows how the Brussels part still is not doing a damn thing about restoring or cleaning up the other lake.
Maybe they just wait until Flanders pay the bill?

When Karel of Lotharingen was not fit enough to go hunting by horse, he went hunting in a carriage, pulled by horses.
Now you might wonder how on earth you can even find an animal to aim at driving in a coach?
Well they first started to make the roads in the wood wide enough for a carriage to pass throught.
Then they had people chasing up the animals in one direction.
From the other direction there were other people waiting with curtains to prevent the animals to run away.
So they got caught between to lines and then it was easier to shoot.
I do wonder how many hunting accidents happened that time???

Another anecdote about Karel of Lotharingen is that when he was told by one of his foresters a guy got shot at because of illegal hunting, Karel was so shocked about this he sent his personal doctor to have a look at the poor fellow. Karel knew how poor and hungry most people were so he felt bad about it.
From then on he also opened the woods and his warande one day a year for the public.
He ordered that every citizen was allowed to hunt for one animal on that occasion.

The people of Tervuren loved Karel of Lotharingen. There are some local anecdotes and stories to proof this.
I told you already in some of the other tips about the mass and celebration of Saint Hubertus?
The time we are talking about when these celebrations started, there was a risk of catching rabies amongst animals and even humans. That is partly the reason why people asked their pets and animals to be blessed. A tradition then was to break bread and give the parts to each of your animals. Now the people of Tervuren were so poor that at some of these occasions, they were not even able to have enough bread to break and give to each of their animals.
Karel, devastated about this, him personally went to visit each of the mills along the Dijle and “asked” that a bag be to be hanged inside each mill. Each time a farmer would come to have his grain milled, he was asked to add a small portion into the bag. It is called the Saint Hubertus portion. With the “harvest” bread could be baked for the ceremony.

In 17th and 18th century the French introduced the Saint Hubertus celebration mass, accompanied with music for horns. This kind of mass spread all over Europe and you can witness it now on many places. Sometimes it is in the church, but lots of times it is outdoors.
People come and ask for the blessing of their animals.

Every year there is also this tradition at Tervuren. I am told that it is really worth to experience it.
The mass and celebration is held every second Sunday of October.
After the mass with horn music, people will gather together in front of the chapel and have their pets and animals blessed.