Emaischen Celebrations to Go Digital this Easter Monday

Luxembourg's Ministry of Culture has announced that some of Luxembourg's cultural heritage events and traditions will be presented in digital format in the coming months.

Due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic and resulting state of emergency in Luxembourg, many traditional events which are normally celebrated in spring cannot take place as usual. Indeed, the Emaischen (Easter Monday), the Octave Pilgrimage (in May) and the Echternach hopping procession (Whit Tuesday) have all been cancelled.

All three of the events mentioned form part of Luxembourg's inventory of intangible cultural heritage (Luxembourgish: Immateriellt Kulturierwen, IKI), which documents oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals and festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe and the knowledge and know-how needed for traditional crafts, among others. 

The Culture Ministry has maintained that it important to keep such festive customs alive, not least during the current period of uncertainty and worry. As such, the Luxembourg Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO has endeavoured to perpetuate these traditions by means of digitalisation, in close collaboration with the communities which organise the events.

The first of these events which have fallen victim to confinement is the Emaischen, which for many years has attracted a large crowd to Luxembourg City's old town on Easter Monday. To ensure the continuity of this popular celebration, a digital version of Emaischen is being developed with historical photos, film extracts and testimonies. The public is invited to upload their favourite “Péckvillchen” pictures to Instagram or Facebook the same day with the hashtags #MyPéckvillchen #MäinPéckvillchen #DigitalÉimaischen #DigitalIKI.

This Easter Monday (13 April 2020), the Luxembourg Commission for Cooperation with UNESCO, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, the Centre national de l'audiovisuel (CNA), the City of Luxembourg and the Alstad (old town) Committee invite everyone to attend a digital “Emaischen”, either on social media or on the Luxembourg intangible cultural heritage website www.iki.lu.