Blog · Family life

The festivals your child will experience at a Luxembourg school.

One December morning, your child comes home with a bag of sweets and a word you have never heard. One February evening, they hand you a lantern made in class and want to ring the neighbours' doorbell. Luxembourg's festivals shape the school year long before anyone explains them to parents. Here is what your child will experience, in order, and what you can do with it for the language.

Kleeschen, 6 December: the children's festival

This is the first big date of the school year, and for small children in Luxembourg it often matters more than Christmas. From late November, your child puts their slippers by the door at night. During the night of 5 to 6 December, the Kleeschen leaves sweets in them. You can tell him apart by his mitre and crosier: he is not Santa Claus. He is sometimes accompanied by the Houseker, who pretends to scold the less well-behaved children.

One practical point many parents discover too late: on 6 December, primary schools are closed. If the date falls on a weekday, you need to arrange childcare.

Liichtmëss, 2 February: the lantern evening

In January, children make a lantern in class. On 2 February, at nightfall, they go from door to door with their Liichtebengelchen, sing in front of the houses, and leave with sweets or a few coins. The song is always the same, Léiwer Härgottsblieschen: it is often the first Luxembourgish text a child knows by heart. We covered it, lyrics included, in our article on nursery rhymes.

In the evening, families eat pancakes. If children come to your door, have something ready to give: that is the only thing expected of you.

Fuesend, the February carnival

Between Candlemas and the start of Lent, schools and municipalities dress up. There are parades in several towns, and often a costume day at school or daycare. Ask the teacher for the theme: the instructions sometimes circulate only in Luxembourgish in the home-school notebook.

Buergbrennen, the great fire that ends winter

On the first Sunday after carnival, villages build a huge bonfire and light it at nightfall to drive winter away. It is not a school event, but it is one of the most striking outings for a child of this age, and one of the easiest ways to meet your neighbours.

Klibberen and Éimaischen: the Easter traditions

During the days when the church bells fall silent, children walk the streets with wooden rattles to announce the services: this is Klibberen, listed as part of the country's intangible cultural heritage. On Easter Monday, the Éimaischen market sells Péckvillercher, small clay whistling birds. A three-year-old will ask for one, and will whistle with it for weeks.

23 June: National Day

The festivities begin the evening before, with a torchlight procession and fireworks. The next day, every municipality organises its own events, often with games for children. It is the day you hear the most Luxembourgish in the street, and nobody expects you to speak it.

Schueberfouer: the funfair that closes the summer

In late August, the big funfair takes over Luxembourg City. For many children it is the last outing before the new school year, and the word comes up in every playground conversation in September.

What you can do, even without speaking the language

None of these festivals requires you to speak Luxembourgish. What matters, for a child aged 3 to 6, is not to be the only one who does not know what is going on. Three things are enough:

Name the festival at home. Saying "tomorrow is Liichtmëss" is enough to turn a strange day into an awaited one.

Learn the word with your child, not before them. A parent who repeats after their child gives them a role they never have at school: the one who knows.

Accept getting the pronunciation wrong. That is exactly what your child does all day long, and nobody holds it against them.

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