Luxembourgish Easter tradition lives on in Weicherdange

But the practice is becoming more and more reliant on volunteers.

RTL visited the village of Weicherdange, in the municipality of Clervaux in northern Luxembourg, to observe this year's "klibberen" march. Although the children involved were enthusiastic, it was obvious to onlookers that organising community activities around the church is becoming more difficult in modern society.

Half a dozen children and their parents assembled outside Weicherdange church at 7am on Good Friday to begin their stroll through the village, accompanied by their rattles. Klibberen, or the act of rattling, is designed to replace the church bells which are traditionally not allowed to ring between Maundy Thursday and Easter Sunday, so the children must complete their tour of the village in the morning, at midday, and in the evening on Good Friday and on Saturday to alert residents to the time. As the legend goes, church bells in Luxembourg fly to Rome to confess their sins to the Pope and do not return until Easter Sunday.

© RTL

In Weicherdange, the majority of the group are altar servers; however, in many other locations around the country, this is not the case, and churches are struggling to find enough children to participate in the tradition. The fact that Good Friday is a school day this year has not helped matters. Clervaux priest Joseph Roemen said it was a shame that the Ministry of Education had not addressed this:

"In December 2022, klibberen was declared part of Luxembourg's intangible cultural heritage, and if we want to support and maintain our culture, we need opportunities to practise it. I can remember times when Good Friday fell during term-time and in the past the government decided to make it a half day for children."

But it's not just the government that needs to support the practice. Klibberen is heavily dependent on volunteers. Marianne Schroeder has volunteered for 25 years in Weicherdange as one of the sole people to engage with the tradition, and is considered to be the heart and soul of the local religious community. Easter is generally a busy time for Schroeder:

"There are a lot of jobs to do around the church, we carry out a big clean of the church for Easter, on Saturday there is the Easter mass, and clean-up is required after that too. Then we have additional choir rehearsals, so there's more work than usual."

Schroeder volunteers for the church throughout the rest of the year as well, but she says she enjoys it because it brings her peace. Does she feel she is sufficiently valued as a woman within the Catholic Church?

"I don't know if that's the case globally, but certainly in Weicherdange I feel valued, I honestly have to say I have no issues here as a woman."

© RTL