The event has several phases, with some parts of the ceremony being open to the public, and others reserved for tradition bearers. It is organised by the Companions of St Lawrence , a city association, and is accompanied by processions and various folk activities during the day. Following a friendly incident in in which the Meyboom was stolen and taken to Leuven, both cities have claimed to be planting the "real" Meyboom.
According to tradition, the celebration commemorates a victory of Brussels over the nearby Flemish town of Leuven in That year, a brawl broke out between the two cities over taxation on beer. Indeed, at the beginning of the 13th century, the bourgeois of Brussels enjoyed frequenting guinguettes i. One afternoon, a group from Leuven turned up in force and unexpectedly attacked one of these guinguettes, Het Cattenhuys , where a wedding was being celebrated.
The Companions of St Lawrence , a city guild whose members were present in the establishment, came to the aid of Brussels' inhabitants and vigorously repelled the aggressor. As a tribute to the new corporation, the plantation date was set to 9 August, the eve of St Lawrence's Day, the guild's patron saint.
However, it was not until , under John II, Duke of Brabant , that this privilege was exercised for the first time. This feat of arms has long puzzled historians, as there are no documents to corroborate the legend. The first explicit mention of the Meyboom dates from , when the Chamber of Accounts allowed the inhabitants of the district known as the "Bas-Fonds" today's MaraisβJacqmain district to fetch the tree from the Sonian Forest , on the outskirts of Brussels, and bring it back to the city for planting.
The custom was once again reported in and In spite of Brussels' tortuous history, including the 20th-century demolition of most of the MaraisβJacqmain district see Brusselisation , the Meyboom tradition has been maintained throughout the centuries. There is, however, some doubt about it taking place in Regardless, the local women took on the initiative and ensured the planting. The processions of and were particularly lavish.
