Whitsun parade Grevenbicht

No Whitsun procession in Grevenbicht without the accompaniment of the Harmonie St. Cecilia brass band, seen here parading through the streets of the church village in Limburg. Legend has it that the brass band has been playing locally since 1857. Their route is well-trodden and well-known from previous years, but just to make sure little flags in Vatican yellow and white point the way. The handful Protestant living in Grevenbicht don’t object to this most Catholic of processions. The time when religious processions in the most Protestant Netherlands posed a threat to public order are long gone. For this reason it was decided in 1983 to scrap the ban on processions from the Dutch Constitution. It was hailed as a victory for religious tolerance, something the Netherlands has been known for down the centuries. But now the burqa is focus of public attention.