Kermesse (festival)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Marten_van_Cleve_-_Village_feast.jpg/350px-Marten_van_Cleve_-_Village_feast.jpg)
Kermesse, or kermis, or kirmess, is an outdoor fair or festival usually organized for charitable purposes.[1][2] The term was derived from 'kerk' (
The kermesse became a common subject in Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting in the 16th century, though many paintings called by the name were probably intended to depict village weddings.
History
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f4/En-of_atelier_Jacob_Savery_de_Oude_-_Fair_on_St_Sebastian%27s_Day_-_156_-_Mauritshuis.jpg/220px-En-of_atelier_Jacob_Savery_de_Oude_-_Fair_on_St_Sebastian%27s_Day_-_156_-_Mauritshuis.jpg)
Arguably the first kermesse was an annual parade to mark the events of the Brussels massacre of 1370 (some sources say 1369) in Brussels, when the entire Jewish population of the city were burnt alive or expelled after being accused of profaning a basket of communion hosts, which were said to have bled when stabbed. According to one source, those Jewish residents who could prove that they did not profane the hosts were not killed, but were merely banished from Brussels.[3]
These festivities still survive in the form of
The standard Dutch language expression Vlaamse kermis (Flemish kermesse) once referred to the local village kermesse (as pronounced in the former County of Flanders) though its modern usage is mainly limited to privately organized fairs open to the public, often for fund-raising, such as by schools or youth organisations in the Flemish Region.
The crew of the Dutch ship Gelderland used the names "griff-eendt" and "kermisgans" for the dodo in 1598, in reference to fowl fattened for the Kermesse festival, which was held the day after they anchored on Mauritius.[4]
In art
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/04/David_Teniers_the_Younger_-_Kermis_on_St_George%27s_Day_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg/250px-David_Teniers_the_Younger_-_Kermis_on_St_George%27s_Day_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
In Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, continuing into the Baroque period especially in the south, Kermesse scenes were a popular genre in painting. These typically show village festivities (perhaps in fact after a wedding or similar) with a few dozen figures dancing, drinking, and often flirting. Sometimes a few better-dressed figures look on. The genre develops a theme found in a smaller scale in the calendars of late-medieval illuminated manuscripts.
Pieter Bruegel the Elder (nicknamed "Peasant Bruegel" for his fondness for such subjects) was the main progenitor of the large painted kermesse, in works like The Wedding Dance (c. 1566, Detroit, with 125 figures) and The Peasant Dance (c. 1567, Vienna), which are thought to have made a set with the sit-down meal shown in The Peasant Wedding (c. 1567, Vienna). Most later works, many by his descendants, adopted the more distant view from slightly above that Bruegel had developed for other subjects, allowing a larger number of figures.
Impact on other languages and cultures
The word Kermess (generally in the form Kirmess) is applied in the
The term has also had an influence on Ibero-American culture. Specifically in Paraguay, Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile, "kermeses" are held by churches and schools to raise funds. Many activities take place including "tombolas" where people buy tickets for drawings that always have awards from very minor items to bigger awards. In Brazil "quermesses" are usually held by churches during the early weeks of winter and in celebration of the widely popular Festa Junina festivities.
The word also entered the Belarusian language as "кiрмаш" (kirmash) in the meaning of "fair". In Lithuanian language "kermošius" (kermoshius) means a fair after the mass in the church. Polish language uses word "kiermasz" which also started as a village church event but over time morphed into synonym for fair.
In Romanian "chermeză" means party or banquet.
In Italian "kermesse" means festival or show, especially one featuring many different acts.
In the Turkish language "kermes" is a sale of ladies' handiwork for charity.
See also
Notes
- ^ "Definition of KERMIS". Merriam-Webster Dictionary. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- Cambridge Dictionary. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
- ^ Curiosities of Popular Customs and of Rites, Ceremonies, Observances, and Miscellaneous Antiquities: and of Rites, Ceremonies, Observances, and Miscellaneous Antiquities By William Shepard Walsh, Published by J.B. Lippincott Co., 1897. 1897.
- ISBN 978-0-7136-6544-4.
- ^ "École Française de Vancouver".
References
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Kermesse". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 757. naming as source :
Boulger, Demetrius C., Belgian Life in Town and Country (1904).
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the - "Kermis van Brussel – Zuidkermis" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-07. / "Foire du Midi 2007 : davantage de convivialité" (in French). 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-07. With short history : "Beknopte historiek" (PDF) (in Dutch). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. / "Aperçu historique" (PDF) (in French). (assumedly 2005) — Both texts in each language : City of Brussels. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- Brinks, Herbert J. "Dutch Americans". Retrieved 2007-08-08.
One village, Little Chute, however, does continue to promote its Dutch ethnicity with a mid-September celebration (kermis), featuring a Dutch-costume parade, games, and craft exhibits.
External links
Media related to Kermesses at Wikimedia Commons
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/38px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png)
- "Kermis van Brussel – Zuidkermis" (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-07. / "Foire du Midi 2007 : davantage de convivialité" (in French). 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-07. With short history : "Beknopte historiek" (PDF) (in Dutch). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. / "Aperçu historique" (PDF) (in French). (assumedly 2005) — Both texts in each language : City of Brussels. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2007-08-07.
- Old photographs of the Brussels fair (collection Jean-Pierre Roels) :[citation needed]