Elst

Elst has its Geutelingen festivities every year on the first Sunday after 9 February. Elst is still known as the geutelingen village. This is related to the worship of Saint Apollonia that used to flourish in Elst. Saint Apollonia was the patron saint of the parish. Her name day is celebrated every year on February 9. Around that period it used to be the custom for pilgrims to go to Elst to worship Saint Apollonia. They then called her out for toothache, among other things. During their visit to Elst, the pilgrims could also buy geutelingen. These are a kind of pancakes that are poured on the glowing stones of a burning wood oven. Until the end of the 1930s, geutelingen were not only eaten in Elst, but in many more villages in the Flemish Ardennes. This happened in the period around Candlemas. Each family then prepared a kettle of dough and carried it to the nearest oven to bake geutelingen. With the disappearance of pilgrimages and popular belief in the region, the use gradually disappeared.

Dromos