An unseasonably late maypole (or 'Meyboom') is raised in Brussels, on the anniversary of a wedding which took place in 1213. A posse of costumed locals accompanies the pole (actually a tree) from the Sablon to the Grand Place.
According to legend, a wedding party was ambushed by a gang of youths from Leuven. When the unwanted youths were finally dispatched, the happy couple were entitled to honour their saviour, Saint Laurence, by planting a May tree on his saint's day every year.
The tradition still survives today, and has grown to become one of the major events on Brussels' heritage calendar.
The tradition still survives today, and has grown to become one of the major events on Brussels' heritage calendar.
