Exactly one week after the anniversary of the closure of the last iron ore mine in Luxembourg, the “Bärbelendag” is celebrated every year. On December 4th, an old tradition is kept alive.

During his historical research, Denis Klein, member of the board of the “Musée National des Mines de Fer” in Rumelange, tried to find out when St. Barbara’s Day started to be celebrated. He found the first press articles on this subject dating from the 1890s.

The day was celebrated in the same way from the beginning, although for a long time it was not a paid holiday for the miners. It was not until the late 1920s, but mainly after 1950, that the holiday was officially recognised by the employers and organised by them.

Similar celebrations everywhere

However, this did not change the way the festivities in honour of Saint Barbara were conducted, says Klein. These still consisted of a parade in which a statue of Saint Barbara was carried through the village. It is no longer possible to know whether these statues existed in the mines from the very beginning. But what is certain is that from the 1950s onwards, every mine accommodated such a statue. It was precisely these statues that were carried in procession through the mining villages on the 4th of December. These processions were accompanied by gunshots. Press reports even suggest that these shots could sometimes be heard as far away as Luxembourg City.

St. Barbara’s Chapel at Ellergronn – © PRO-SUD / Yann Logelin

The processions usually ended with a banquet followed by a party. It was not unusual for these celebrations to last until the early hours of the fifth of December. According to Denis Klein, we can therefore assume that the day after Saint Barbara’s Day was not the most productive day in Luxembourg’s mines.

Tradition survived mining activities

What is certain, however, is that the tradition of celebrating Saint Barbara’s Day survived the end of mining in Luxembourg. Even though there are hardly any miners left, the festival in honour of the patron saint of miners is still celebrated in a big way. This is the case in Rumelange and Lasauvage, among others.