The church was central to all aspects of life and the fair was no exception. Seasonal activities and Church celebrations combined to produce early fairs.
In the period following the year 1000 there was an explosion in church building together with an increased emphasis on record keeping. Church dedications, the commemoration of a consecration or the transfer of relics were the opportunity for festivities. The origin of many fairs is to be found in such medieval religious events. Kirmis is a word no longer current in English but which still in current usage across Europe describing a pleasure fair or local festivity. The religious origin of the kermis (kirkmass) can still be heard in the word itself, not only in English, also in Dutch (kermis - originally kerckmisse - : mis), German (kirmes - originally Kirchmesse - : Messe) and Italian (kermesse: messa). Traditionally, before the Reformation, most kermises coincided with the celebration of the parish’s patron saint, however popular amusements gradually outshone the liturgical remembrance of the consecration of the church. Pilgrims would swell the numbers at some festivals, churches vying to attract their trade.
D. Vinckboons etched this country fair, probably end of the 16th or beginning of the 17th century.
Scene of a Procession of the Holy Sacrament of the Miracle (‘Processie van het Heilig Sacrament van Mirakelen’) in Nivelles, Belgium, somewhere in the 1930’s.
Processions have their origins in the medieval worship of saints and their relics. These festivals combined Christian rites with older pagan rituals. Saints were celebrated in a solemn, but lively way. Saint’s figures, lots of flowers, horses, magnificent costumes, candles and music produced an impressive atmosphere. At the end of the actual procession it was time for festivities. Showmen performed, beer and wine were served and pastry and roast were dispatched. Many fairs and markets of our days derive directly from religious processions.
A Russian Swing at a fair in the Turkish town of Péra, 1817.
Easter Day 1817: a so-called Bairam Festival in the centre of Péra, Turkey. The Russian Swing depicted here is the predecessor of the big wheel. It is first mentioned by globe-trotter Peter Mundy who stumbled upon a specimen at a Turkish Bairam Fair in 1620. In the 18th century the Russian Swings were spread all over Europe. They remained very popular in Russia and the Near East.
Illustration for the book Jesting World…of the rustic simpleness (Belachende Werelt…van de Boersche eenvoudigheijt). Made by A. van de Venne in 1635.
Saint Joseph ( San Giuseppe ) celebration in Marzabotto ( Italy ) with fair and religious procession. Around 1940.
A religious procession during the Maastricht Fair in the Netherlands about 1920.