Monday, July 29, 2013

The Hats

Another Sunday in Kruiningen, another hats parade. On Sundays, this place is a dead town. People mostly only go to church. That's because on Sundays, church is the only place where they are allowed to go - two or three times a day! These people belong to a very conservative and quite isolated Calvinistic denomination. Now, I've never actually attended this church, but my Czech EVS colleague has. Since he's studied theology, this experience was quite fascinating for him, but, as interesting as this church was from a theological point of view, he was even more fascinated by its strict dress code. Women are not allowed to wear pants at all, and when attending the service, they have to wear really fancy clothes and hats. The first time I saw them in the village, I thought they were just off to some special party. 
Calvinistic church

I certainly have learned a lot about Protestantism living in Kruiningen during the past 7 months, but I guess I'm still quite far from understanding it. Well, Kruiningen with its few churches is probably a good starting point. The Karavaan in the Czech Republic is the next step of the way. We'll have to wait and see how much more the others and I can learn there. 

Only one day left! 

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