Hopping to It on Whitsuntide Tuesday

Everyone knows what it's like to be hopping mad. But those who visit Echternach, Luxembourg, on Whitsuntide Tuesday — two days after Pentecost Sunday — also know what it means to be hopping glad.

Each year on that day in this scenic medieval town (located in the tiny country's “Little Switzerland” Mullerthal region), a ritual more than 1,200 years old rolls through the streets. It is called the Hopping Procession, and it may be the only institutionalized vestige of liturgical dance in the Catholic Church.

The procession attracts thousands of pilgrims to the old Benedictine abbey founded in the seventh century by the Irish-Anglo monk St. Willibrord. Echternach is the only place in the world where this dance still exists.

The hopping custom began with Willibrord's death in 739 but evolved into something closer to its present form in the 1300s when it was invoked as a pilgrimage-and-prayer procession against the ravages of the Plague. It also had some connection with tithe processions. People from neighboring areas would walk in a procession to the town, bearing offerings of wheat, wax and money. One group was bound by a pledge to make the annual pilgrimage; they started the dance. Until the 18th century, only men were permitted to participate.

The format of the dance has changed over the centuries. Originally the pilgrims hopped from side to side, a few paces to the left and then to the right. The first groups were small, so the dance was conducted only in a forward motion. Overthe years the crowds swelled and, eventually, as the long processions got held up for one reason or another (witness any long parade today), the participants would have to hop on the spot and sometimes even appear to be hopping backwards if stopped on an incline. Since 1945, the procession has only hopped forward and side to side.

The clergy lead the procession. Behind them follow youth and then older people, some of whom struggle to keep up with the considerable physical exertion needed to keep up. The music played by flutes, fiddles and drums is a simple folk whose rhythm has come to resemble a polka.

Various important personages from archbishops to the Emperor Joseph II have tried to ban the practice. After being suspended for several years during the French Revolution, it was resumed following the signing of the 1801 Concordat. From that time on, women were allowed to take part. During World War II, which saw Luxembourg embroiled in the horrendous battle of the Ardennes, only small groups were allowed to perform inside the basilica. An unforgettable moment occurred in 1945 when at Whitsuntide a procession carefully picked its way through the rubble — all that remained of the battered town.

Today, a Pontifical Mass is celebrated in the basilica on Whit Tuesday, followed by an address from the bishop of Luxembourg in the courtyard. The choir sings some hymns in honor of St. Willibrord. Then, at the sound of an enormous bell donated by the Emperor Maximilian after his pilgrimage in 1512, groups of pilgrims from countries that honor the saint — Germany, Holland, France and others — wend their way toward the Sure Bridge and through to the market place, up some of the higher streets and back to the basilica.

The final hop is through the church and to the exquisite crypt where St. Willibrord is buried. A final blessing is given to the pilgrims. Then the groups disperse to listen to more hymns and music by various musical groups. The pilgrims number in the thousands.

Fortunately for pilgrims, the Church issues strict guidelines for pilgrims so that this religious celebration does not turn into a secular folk festival.

The St. Willibrord Way

I'm sure I'm not the only Catholic who had never heard of St. Willibrord before visiting Echternach. I learned that he was a very important, even essential, figure in the evangelization of northern Germany and the Netherlands. Born in 658 in Northumbria, England, he was educated in Ireland by Irish monks, including St. Egbert. After ordination as a Benedictine in his 30s, he believed God wanted him to preach the Gospel to the Frisians in the low countries at the mouth of the Rhine where evangelical attempts by St. Wilfrid had met with failure.

With the Pope's permission he set off with 11 assistants in 690. He converted many and established several churches. He also baptized Pepin the Short, who later became the king of France.

Known for his gift of prophecy, Willibrord was also a man noted for his good humor and love of life. The English historian St. Bede wrote of Willibrord while he was alive: “He is a venerable old man…awaiting the rewards of a life in heaven, after the generous battles he waged in spiritual combat.”

Today St. Willibrord is patron of those who suffer from epilepsy and other motor disorders. The dance in his honor is thought of as a healing one — we have all heard the term “St. Vitus' dance” for such disorders. The spiritual strength of the Whitsuntide dance is symbolized by the strong sense of a believing community among the participants, who do not participate as individuals. Rather, they are linked one to another by holding on to ends of a handkerchief moving in tempo to the rhythm of the traditional melody.

The abbey itself is another spiritual treasure. It was the hub of Christianity for centuries. Its monks, inspired by Irish illuminists, crafted beautiful manuscripts now housed in the world's great libraries and museums.

In 1939 Pope Pius XII raised the abbey to the status of a basilica. In 1944 the town and basilica were blown up during the Battle of the Bulge. Miraculously, the crypt where Willibrord was buried escaped damage. In 1949 the cornerstone of a new basilica was laid and the basilica rebuilt. Today the basilica, monastery and school dominate the townsquare area.

And the Hopping Procession claims a spot in the spiritual imagination of all those who see it. As one commentator put it: “Like all processions, [this one] is a striking symbol of God's people on the move. We do not opt for the easy life. We go on striving for a goal, moving steadily toward our ultimate aim of communion with God.”

Lorraine Williams writes from Markham, Ontario.