The Belgian Cat Parade originates from the fear of cats during medieval times in Europe. The cats were mostly believed to be creatures of the devil. Early literature had references that compared the act of a cat hunting mice with that of the devil snatching human souls. This happened during the early 13th century when Pope Gregory IX called for an attack on the demonic acts of the cats.
This history of the Belgian Cat Parade has sometimes been associated with the Black Plague that ravaged Europe during the 14th century. The Black Plague was carried by fleas, which had an infection, and were usually found in rats. It is believed that the massacre of cats helped the population of rats to increase. Hence, the spread of the disease became easy.
Cats were beaten, burned, and killed on an enormous scale, at times even for the pleasure of crowds. In Ypres, cats were tossed from the tower of the Cloth Hall into the cobbled street and burned there. People thought that killing cats would ward off evil spirits.
According to some explanations, the cats were kept in the Cloth Hall because they guarded against vermin that might damage the wool and clothes brought in during the winter. After the sale in spring, the increasing numbers of cats were unnecessary. Hence, the event came to be known as Cat's Wednesday. It lasted until 1817, when the last cat was finally slaughtered.
However, the contemporary version of the Belgian Cat Parade started gaining symbolic significance in 1938. The children used to climb the bell tower and throw stuffed cats rather than living creatures. It is interesting to note that the first large parade took place in Ypres in 1955.
Nowadays, the Belgian Cat Parade participants are dressed up as cats, mice, witches, and other characters from the past. There is music and dancing, there are brass bands and horse-riders marching with the procession to Cloth Hall. The parade features a throwing of stuffed cats by the jester into the eager crowd, and the giant cat, called Minneke Poes, joins the parade.
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