The Burning of the Underpants

After experiencing the Brotherhood of the Warm Sausage in the Matisse Gallery we felt it was only right that we should attend the burning of the giant's underpants in Ath. Graham's disappointment was palpable as we were banned from entering Lens Louvre because he was carrying a Swiss Army knife, so we headed off to a car park in Ath to attend the Ducasse ( a festival of giants which dates back to the 16th century if not earlier).

at the Museum des Geants

After a bit of looking around we found a nice parking spot tucked away in the corner of the car park by the Gare (train station) which was, of course, free. Some friends of ours, who had tipped us off about the giants, pulled up a few bays across from us so it was great to run across the car park to say hi.  It was a massive 5 minute walk into town where we visited the Museum of Giants and had a stroll around the strangely quiet town. It was not to remain quiet for long as our video will show - click here for burning undies.

prepare for the burning 

It was rather a long wait for the underpants to appear in the Esplanade. We managed to get a great spot where the aforementioned garment was carried in to the excitement of the awaiting crowd. While we waited the police were called to a contre temps between a few 14(ish) year old girls across the way which was a little amusing. It was a little disconcerting to note that the firemen all kissed each other in greeting as did the police. All these burly chaps pecking each other on the cheek was rather unusual. We could not imagine that happening in the UK. All in all it was a violence free, if a little kissy, event and the burning got underway in an orderly manner.

'what big legs you have M Le Geant'

I thought the pants were sponsored by the local brewery as the word 'Gouyasse' was written on them but apparently it is the Belgian word for Goliath, the main giant. It is a apparently a tradition in Belgium that the groom's underpants are burned on the night before the wedding. We returned to Dickie to prepare for the next day's event which included the marriage of Goliath and his bride, and await Graham's birthday.

Mr Fluffy with floating giant at the museum