CHAPTER XIII 

 CARNIVALS IN MANY LANDS 



CARNIVALS and mask dances occupy an important place 

 in the lives of the people in all parts of the world. 

 Most, if not all of them, are survivals of religious 

 and magical ceremonies of extreme antiquity. To the 

 folklorist they are of the greatest interest ; but apart 

 from their importance as relics of the past stages of 

 human nature, they have often extraordinary pictur- 

 esqueness. 



Mr. Georg'e Renwick in his descriptive volume on 

 Luxemburg l says : " Echternach, in Luxemburg, is 

 widely famous for the great dancing procession which 

 takes place in the town every Whitsun Tuesday. This 

 curious rite annually draws to the town about twenty 

 thousand ' pilgrims ' and probably as many more 

 spectators. These come from far and near. The 

 origin of the dance is lost in the mists of the ages, 

 and though it is mentioned for the first time in records 

 bearing a date as late as the end of the sixteenth 

 century, there is little reason to believe that this singular 

 ceremony was not held for a considerable period prior 

 to that. Pilgrimages to the tomb of Saint WiUibron 

 began early in the eighth century, very soon after 

 1 See Bibliography, 41. 



