NSB Groot-Zottegem (Old Warriors and Veterans Association) celebrates the National Day with TeDeum in the dekenal church.
At 10:30 am we gather at the City Hall on the Market, to go in procession and under musical accompaniment to the deanal church. After the TeDeum, we get on under musical accompaniment to the monument via Heldenlaan, where a speech will be given and a flower deposit will take place.
What do we actually celebrate on July 21?
Belgium’s national holiday is celebrated on July 21. It is the date on which, in 1831, the first King of the Belgians, Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, took the constitutional oath as king. The swearing in was the final piece of Leopold I’s entry into Belgium.
After the Belgian Revolution in 1830, which led to Belgian independence, the
National Congress decided to make Belgium a kingdom. On 4 June 1831, the same National Congress elected Leopold of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha as the first King of the Belgians.
Leopold I’s entry into Belgium began on July 16, 1831 when he arrived by boat from Dover, in
England, traveled to the French Calais, after which he the next day by carriage to the Belgian
border village De Panne was brought. In the following days he traveled further through the country, passing through Bruges and Ghent, and on 21 July 1831 he took the constitutional oath as the first king of the Belgians on the Koningsplein in Brussels.
