Blessing of the sea

Those who read my blog know that my sister and I spend a whole lot of our time inbb Knokke-Heist. Our flat is in Heist, which has always been a fishermen's village. When we were little kids, our parents rented half of a house belonging to a pensioned fisherman and his wife. So we grew up with respect for the sea and loved to eat everything that swims in it.

On August 15th, one of our catholic holidays, Heist has a tradition of its own. There is a holy procession (and yes, they still find people for it!) through the streets of the center, and afterwards the priest gives his blessing to the ships and the fishermen. Every ship that is able parades before the coastline, and they fire flares and spout water. Quite something to watch!

As you can see, traditions go a long way in Flanders. We try very hard to keep our heirloom preserved and maintained. Do you have sortlike traditions where you live?